The Lives Of The Broken
by WeasleyIsMyKing540
Summary: AU MARRIAGE LAW FIC: With Harry Potter dead and the war lost, the Weasleys and Hermione struggle to survive in a Voldemort controlled world. Especially when Voldemort serves up his own cold dish of revenge. WARNING: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. Rated M for LSV RW/HG DM/GW, VK/HG READ AND REVIEW :)
1. Chapter 1: Decree No 71

Welcome to The Lives Of The Broken.

This is going to be a marriage law fic with my favorite pairings along with others as well. There will be a lot of mature themes as well as domestic violence, so if that is a trigger for you, please don't read.

As always I don't own any of Queen Rowling's characters nor the wonderful world that is Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter 1: Decree No. 71

It happened so quickly, it seemed as if it was going in slow motion. Harry Potter, in the middle of death and rubble, was battling it out hard against Lord Voldemort. Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom were trying to make Nagini follow them so they could trap and kill her, as she was the last Horcrux.

They were so close, they could almost taste the victory on the tip of their tongues. Ron and Hermione had Nagini right where they wanted her.

However, they didn't anticipate Lucius Malfoy. They didn't even see him coming. Last they seen any sight of him, he was outside where the war was taking place.

But there he was, pointing his wand at Neville and screaming "Avada Kedavra!" at the top of his lungs. There was a flash of green, the sound of death rushing and claiming Neville as his, and the snake slithering away triumphantly.

And then, the deafening screams of despair and horror, and Voldemort's combination of yelling and cackling: "HARRY POTTER HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!"

The evil had won. Their best friend had been wiped off the face of the Earth. All that was left of Harry Potter was his glasses.

* * *

Hermione woke up sweaty and panting, as usual. She had the same nightmare of that moment almost every single night. She wished that she could find a way to not sleep, but that was impossible.

She looked over at her practically a sister, Ginny Weasley, tucked in her bed sleeping what appeared to be soundly. But she knew it wasn't what it looked like. It had only been a mere month since Hermione had lost her unofficial brother, and Ginny, her boyfriend. They had briefly mentioned getting back together after everything was said and done, and now Ginny wouldn't have that chance. Hermione felt horrible for the girl.

She got up and walked out the room, closing Ginny's door quietly. She then tiptoed up the stairs until she got to Ron's room. Before she could knock, he had already opened the door.

"Was I that loud coming up the steps?" asked Hermione.

Ron chuckled. "No. I wasn't sleep. I was about to get some water actually."

"Oh." said Hermione. "Do you still want to go?"

Ron shook his head and grabbed Hermione hand. "Get in here." he said as he pulled her into his room and into his arms.

They embraced each other as they did most nights when Hermione would sneak up to Ron's room. She found that the only comfort she could get when she would have nightmares was from him.

"Was it the same one?" asked Ron as he squeezed her as close to him as he could get her.

"Isn't it always? It doesn't change. And when I wake up, he isn't here." whispered Hermione as she rubbed Ron's back in circles.

"I know." said Ron. "I still can't grasp the fact that I wake up every morning and that bed over there is empty."

He let go of Hermione and let her get under the covers of his bed. He got in with her, wrapping an arm around her, pulling her close to his body.

"I worry about her Ron." said Hermione, bringing up Ginny. "It's been a month, and she still hasn't said anything. Not even a whisper of a word."

"I know. The healers still haven't figured out what's wrong with her. They think that it's more to do with something mental than physical. Mum thinks that she's traumatized or something, and that she won't ever speak again."

"Maybe." said Hermione, as she turned to face Ron. She put her hand on his torso, outlining his abs as Ron twirled a loose strand of Hermione's hair around his left index finger.

"Are we wrong Ron?"

"About?"

"About being together when Ginny doesn't have Harry anymore? Don't get me wrong, you know I'm happy to finally be with you, but do you think it's hurting Ginny that we have each other and she lost Harry?"

Ron looked over at his brown-eyed beauty. One thing he loved about Hermione was her brain and how it was always working. But sometimes, like this time, she thought too much.

"If Ginny was mad, she would let us know. Even without speaking, she would let us know. I do think that we should still not be too flirtatious in front of her out of respect, but I don't want to be without you. I need you, Mione." said Ron, voice heavy with emotion.

Hermione smiled as she moved Ron's fiery strands out of his sapphire blue eyes. "I need you too." she said lifting her head to kiss him passionately on the lips.

* * *

Despite what was going on in the world around The Burrow, Molly Weasley always tried to keep mealtimes as cheerful as possible. However, with the deaths of both Percy and Harry, it was much harder these days to keep her merry attitude.

Percy may had fallen out with the family for a while, but he was still her son. When he finally seen the reality of the Ministry, he came back, fighting for the Order. He had actually pushed Fred out of the way of falling rubble, which is what had killed him. Molly often thought that she hadn't properly forgiven him before he died, thus the hurt was even more impossible to bare sometimes.

Still, she had six more as well as Hermione and her husband to take care of, and she couldn't let her woes get in the way.

Bill and Fleur had went back to Shell Cottage and Charlie had went back to Romania. The twins moved back into The Burrow, as they couldn't very well rebuild their shop under Voldemort's new order. As a matter of fact, with the exception of Bill and Charlie, there wasn't much that the Weasley's could do lately.

The Weasleys, along with the Malfoys, Blacks and the Potters were among the most well-known pureblood families in the Wizarding world. While the Potters ended with Harry's death, the other lines were still alive, strong, and above all, pure. However, the Weasleys were deemed blood traitors. Voldemort hated blood traitors just as much as he hated Muggleborns, so he created laws in which caused the Weasley's to not be able to work in England anymore. He had no control over Romania, nor the goblins that Bill worked for, so their jobs were secure. However, Arthur was fired from the Ministry, and Fred and George got their building permits as well as business licenses taken away, so they were not allowed to re-open their shop.

Still, the Weasley's tried to survive. Fred and George did minor mail orders in secret with dealers they knew they could trust, while Bill had taken on the responsibility of training his father in banking and code breaking, so that he could work with the goblins in Gringotts someday.

As Ron, Hermione, the twins, Arthur, and Molly sat down and munched on toast, bacon, and eggs, a small and very energetic owl came soaring through the window, flying lopsided circles around his owner Ron's head. The weight of the mail he had was causing the little owl to fly wonky.

Ron caught Pigwidgeon from out of the air, and untied the roll of parchment from his tiny leg. He then plucked what looked like a very official letter from his beak, gave him some toast, and sent him on his way.

"What you got there, Ronnie dear?" asked Molly as she stared at the envelope in Ron's hand. Hermione had taken the parchment, which was a Quibbler newsletter, and began scanning it for names of the killed and/or missing.

"Looks like another bloody Ministry letter, Mum." said Ron looking disgusted at the envelope in his hand. "Wonder what decree it is this time? What are we on, number 71 or some shit?"

"Language boy!" harped Molly.

"Mum, I'm so sick of this." said Ron as he flung the envelope on the table. "It's like we have our own set of laws that we have no choice but to abide by. Dad and the twins can't work, you can hardly shop for food, our vault that didn't have hardly anything in it to begin with has been seized and frozen, we can't even set foot in Diagon Alley unless it's bloody Bill, Ginny can't go back to school, and so much more. I'm sick of living like this, Mum!"

Molly sighed as she picked up the letter from the table. "I understand sweetheart. This is a stressful time for all of us. Of course He Who Must Not Be Named is making our lives miserable on purpose, but just like we have survived these many years, we will survive now. We won't let anything they throw at us knock us out, do you understand?" she said looking at everyone at the table. Everyone nodded.

Molly opened up the envelope and read over the letter. Her expression changed from mild worry, to what looked like absolute horror. She dropped the letter and slumped down in her chair.

"Mum, what happened?" the twins shouted as they rushed to their mother's aid, along with Arthur. Ron picked up the letter from the floor and read it out loud.

 _To The Weasley Family,_

 _Under the now instituted Decree No. 71, under the rule of our great leader, the Dark Lord, it is to become in effect on September 1st, 1998, that Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley and Master Draco Lucius Malfoy are to be wed. This is to ensure that blood lines are to remain pure and intact. Failure to comply to the terms of this arrangement will result in immediate death._

 _We await your answer of agreement and hope that this has found you well._

 _Signed,_

 _Antonin Dolohov_

 _Head Of Magical Law And Enforcement._

Ginny and Hermione's jaws dropped. Molly weeped in Fred's arms while George and Arthur stood staring at Ron, dumbstruck.

"No, this can't...no." whispered Hermione as she put a protective arm around Ginny.

"Like hell this is happening! yelled Ron, finding his voice. "No sister of mine is marrying that bloody evil ferret!"

"I second that!" said George. "They can all go to Hell for this!"

"We have no choice, boys." said Arthur slowly.

"What do you mean we have no choice? I'd rather die than see my sister on the arms of that Death Eater spawn!" yelled Ron as he pulled Ginny protectively into his arms.

"He would kill us all, Ronald. Every single one of us. And he would still make Ginny marry that awful boy, don't you see?"said Arthur as he looked over the letter.

Ron hugged Ginny tighter to his chest, hot tears welling up in his eyes. Of all the underhanded, mental, and downright evil things to do to their family. And worst of all, to Ginny.

"They can't marry her off to the prat if he's dead." said Ron sinisterly.

Hermione ran over to Ron and gripped his arm. "Don't you dare talk like that, Ronald Weasley! Of all the crazy things to say! They will kill you if you even look like you want to touch Malfoy!"

"I'm not going to sit here and let this shit happen Hermione!" shouted Ron.

The room erupted in arguments. No one could hardly make sense of what the other was saying.

* * *

Ginny wiggled her way out of Ron's arms and ran upstairs to her room, slamming the door. She couldn't take the yelling and screaming anymore. It was driving her crazy. What was the point in arguing the inevitable?

Ginny hadn't told her family that she could very well speak if she chose to. She didn't have anything to say to anyone. What could she say? Nothing could bring Percy, nor Harry, nor Colin, nor Remus and Tonks back. There was no point.

She did indeed have a lot to say over this idiotic trap of a marriage law. It was sick. Absolutely disgusting. She found it insulting that Tom would find such delight in making her suffer.

She also saw the real reason as to why he did it. It would be the ultimate smack in the face for the Weasley family. Everyone knew that the Malfoy and Weasley families have feuded for centuries, especially Arthur and Lucius. What better way to cause her father immense pain than to marry her off to Lucius's only son?

Ginny sat on her bed and held close to her a stuffed hippogriff that Harry had given her two years ago for her birthday. She allowed her mind to drift back to when they had won the Quidditch cup her fifth year. Their first kiss. They had two victories that day.

She thought back to long talks under the tree that was in front of the lake. They would talk about everything from Quidditch, to their possible futures together. Even though they hadn't been dating for very long, they already knew that they were meant.

The funeral left her devastated as she had to sit there and pretend that she agreed with the reasons why Harry was breaking up with her. She felt as if Harry didn't know her at all. She would have gladly supported him and fought beside him along with Ron and Hermione. She would have given anything to be by his side.

Instead, she had to help fight the battle of injustice alongside Neville and Luna at Hogwarts. And while that was a trial in itself, it still didn't keep Harry from her mind.

Watching Harry die right in front of her face was devastating. She didn't get to tell him she loved him. She didn't get to tell him that she wanted nothing but to spend the rest of her life with him. She felt almost as if she was a widow.

And now she was to be married to Harry's rival. What a sick twisted world.

Ginny had only interacted with Draco Malfoy four times over the years. Twice was first year when she defended Harry at Flourish and Blotts, and then when he mocked her about that embarrassing Valentine's Day singing gram. The third was in her 4th year, when she gave him a nasty Bat-Bogey hex along with his cronies in Umbridge's office.

The fourth encounter was less negative. It was her sixth year when Snape was headmaster. She had just finished tagging a wall with the D.A. symbol, when Draco caught her. She thought for sure he would sound an alarm, hex her, do something nasty to get her in some form of trouble.

Instead, he showed her a charm to make it glow and to make it non removable from the wall, and then seen that she got back to Gryffindor safely. That experience vexed her, and for many days after, she would observe him, wondering if she should say something to him, but she never did.

She laid down on the bed, face buried into the hippogriff as she shed tears. She had two months to try to live somewhat of a life. For come September 1st, it would all be over.


	2. Chapter 2: Meetings And Decree No 75

Chapter 2: Meetings And Decree No. 75

As time passed and the family tried to adjust to the idea of Ginny's impending marriage, Ron, Hermione, and the twins started plotting to get Ginny out of it.

They thought of having Ginny move to Romania with Charlie, or even Shell Cottage with Bill and Fleur, as their place was unplottable. However, both plans fell apart due to the fact that Voldemort would take out the rest of the family.

They thought of going into hiding, however Decree No. 73 had arrived a couple days after 71, letting the family know that they had a trace magically put on every member of the Burrow. No matter where they would go, they would be found until after the marriage. It seemed that Voldemort had thought of everything.

Decree No. 74 and 75 had came in, each one belonging solely to Hermione. She was to report to the Ministry and be told personally what they were and what would be carried out. And she was to go alone.

The thought of Hermione going to a place ran by Death Eaters had Ron terrified. He tried to think of anything he could to be able to go with her. Harry's invisibility cloak was still in their possession, however, there were wards put up around the entire Ministry preventing such things to be properly used. Disguising himself wouldn't work at all for the same reasons.

So on an extremely hot July day, Hermione apparated by herself to the Ministry, while Ron and the rest of the Weasley's stayed back, biting their nails.

When Molly was nervous of something, she would bake. It didn't matter what it was, what ingredients went into it, or how many things she made. She just had to bake. She had already bakes two cakes, a small stack of miniature pies, and a huge loaf of bread, when a knock came at the door.

Molly grabbed a hold of her wand tightly. No one had knocked on the door since the last year, when wedding guests were arriving at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

She went to the door and peeked out of the small peephole. There, she seen a most regal looking man with long and elegant looking white hair. She immediately cringed.

She opened the door and allowed Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy to enter her home.

"Mrs. Weasley." said Lucius, slightly nodding his head to the woman. "I would say, it's a pleasure, but you and I both know that not to be true."

Molly glared at the man in all his pompous glory. She looked to Narcissa and gave her a slight nod, which Narcissa returned. Draco kept his head down, eyes on the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with her at all.

"I suppose you know why we are here." said Lucius as he looked around the kitchen at all the baked goods, nose turning up at the sight the mess that was made.

"I do. Let me just go collect the rest of my family." said Molly as she headed to the steps.

"No need for them all. Just your husband and the girl." sneered Lucius. Molly's eyes shrank into slits as she ascended up the stairs.

Narcissa put her hand on Lucius's shoulder. "Her name is Ginevra." said Narcissa, softly. "We talked about this."

Lucius looked at his wife out the corner of his eye and sighed a frustrated sigh. "Let's just get this matter over with. I can only be cordial for so long." he said, moving Narcissa's hand away.

Narcissa then turned to her son and gently pushed his chin up to meet his eyes.

"Do try to do the same, Draco darling." she whispered in a sweet motherly voice. "I raised a gentleman, not a tyrant, contrary to popular belief."

Draco simply nodded and then went back to looking at the floor.

Seconds later, Molly, Arthur, and Ginny came down the steps and into the kitchen. Arthur looked completely disgusted that Lucius Malfoy was standing in his house.

"Malfoy." he growled.

"Weasley." Lucius huffed.

"Gentleman, please." said Narcissa. "I understand the two of you do not get on, but this isn't about you. It's about our children."

"That's exactly right." said Molly as she stretched out her arm in the directing of the sitting room. "Let's go into the parlor and sit down. I'll put on some tea."

The two men stared daggers at one another as they made their way into the sitting room. Narcissa shook her head in shame as she followed her husband.

Ginny and Draco stood in the tiny hallway, neither of them wanting to move.

Ginny leaned against the wall looking completely over the entire situation. Draco kept his head down, but raised his eyes to look at Ginny.

He could not believe he had to be a pawn in the Dark Lord's sick and twisted game. True, his father had fallen out of favor of the brute, but why did he have to pay for his father's mistakes and be hitched to a fucking Weasley?

Not that Ginny wasn't horrid looking. Actually, Draco found her to be extremely attractive. Nothing like those slags in his house. But she was who she was. A Weasley. A blood traitor. Not to mention Saint Potter had his filthy hands on her first.

Draco lifted his head to look Ginny in her face. He could tell that she didn't want him here just as much as he didn't want to be there. Still, he told his mother he would be polite during this visit so he motioned his hand for her to go in front of him.

Ginny sneered at him, but walked ahead, head held slightly high. He wasn't about to come in her house and act like he was a king like he did the halls of Hogwarts. This was her world, he was nothing but a tourist.

She seen that Narcissa had taken the seat that normally Arthur would sit in. Knowing her father, despite his disdain for the family, he probably offered her his chair, as it wasn't as damaged as the other furniture. Lucius had opted to stand instead of sit. Draco and Ginny reluctantly sat on the loveseat, beside each other.

'Hex me now.' thought Ginny as she sat down, eyes cutting back and forth from Lucius to Draco.

Molly came in with a tray of tea, sugar and mini pies and sat the tray down on the coffee table. She then poured out six cups of tea and served each one as well as herself. Everyone but Lucius and Ginny muttered a thank you.

"Let's get this over with." said Lucius as he began to pace the room slowly, looking at all the knickknacks that the Weasley's owned. "The Dark Lord wishes our children to be wed. While I for one am strictly against this union, I have no choice, but to honor his wishes."

"That's malarkey and you know it, Malfoy." said Arthur sternly. "Wasn't your boy betrothed to that Parkinson girl in the first place? What happened with that? She's a pureblood isn't she? Why does he need my daughter?!"

Narcissa and Molly looked shockingly at Arthur. He was normally a very composed man, but with this situation, he couldn't help but show his rage.

Lucius looked equally irate. "It appears that my family has fallen out of favor of the Dark Lord, try as hard as I may to reverse the situation. And then it's the fact that your youngest son along with Potter and the Mudblood participated in the hunt for Horcruxes. He seeks revenge for your idiotic son as well as the rest of your pathetic family's actions."

"Lucius." said Narcissa, hoping he would stop with his insults.

"You will respect my family while you are in my home sir, is that clear?" warned Molly. "We have the power to say no."

"You don't actually." spat Lucius. "Neither of us has the power to do anything if we want to keep our lives. But of course, you already knew that. So let's stop with the charade."

Molly looked positively pissed, while Arthur's face was as red as a beet. All Draco, Ginny, and Narcissa could do was stare and hope that the three wouldn't resort to firing off jinxes.

Narcissa decided to address the group before attacks were made. " I understand that there is a lot of animosity amongst our families, however, this could be a chance for us to start over. For our children to end this."

"Cissy, you sound absolutely ridiculous." said Lucius. "The only reason why I am agreeing to this hellish union is because we have no bloody choice in the matter. I could care less if the Weasleys lived or died."

Ginny growled at the man, her wand hand itching to grab a hold and give this pompous windbag a hexing he would never forget.

Narcissa stood up and walked in front of her husband, finger pointing at his face.

"I will not have you speak like this. Not in front of my son. Don't you see where all this hate has gotten us? It needs to end. And it will end if I have anything to do with it." said Narcissa, sternly.

Lucius looked appalled. Partly because he had just been reprimanded by his wife in front of the bloody Weasleys. Just what Arthur needed. More ammo to use against him. Still, he knew when enough was enough when it came to Narcissa, so he sat down in the seat she had just gotten out of, and pouted like some pampered baby.

"Molly, I apologize for this." said Narcissa calmly. "This wasn't how the conversation was supposed to go. Now, if I may speak on why we are here?"

Molly nodded, encouraging Narcissa to go on.

"Lucius and I would be honored to open up our home to Ginevra for the week. That way, she and Draco can get more acquainted with each other. Draco had mentioned to me that while he has had many encounters with your youngest son, he hadn't known Ginevra much out of the fact that she's a Weasley."

Ginny stared daggers at Draco. He knew damn well who she was. How dare he lie to his mother like that and totally dismiss the fact that he had been an absolute prat to her a couple times before. Draco looked back at her, emotions totally drained from his face.

"With all due respect Narcissa, I don't think I can allow that." said Molly. "Ginny isn't even of age yet. And besides, she is going through a very rough time right now, what with losing her brother, her friends, and Harry. She has been so traumatized, she can't even speak."

"She can't speak?" laughed Lucius, clearly amused by Ginny's situation. Draco looked at Ginny as if he saw right through the bullshit. Ginny averted her eyes from his and stared down at the floor.

Narcissa looked a bit troubled, but quickly recovered. "We have the best healers on payroll, Molly. Perhaps we can get some of them to take a look at her?"

"She will not be seeing any Death Eater quacks, do you hear me?!" yelled Arthur.

"You dare address my wife in such a manner?!" growled Lucius, going for the wand that was in his cane.

"I'm fine Lucius." said Narcissa, putting her hand up. "As I was saying, this could be a good opportunity. Maybe it will help this transition a bit better. For the children as well as us. At least consider it Molly, and owl me in the morning?"

Molly looked like she would rather consider anything else but what Narcissa was saying. However, she nodded as she gulped down the rest of her tea.

* * *

Another knock came at the door, causing Molly to jump slightly. She didn't think she could handle any more visitors. She went to the door and opened it to Hermione, standing with a man in long black business robes.

Antonin Dolohov.

"Evening Weasleys. Just bringing your precious Mudblood back." he snarled as he pushed Hermione into the house.

Molly took Hermione into her arms and glared at Dolohov, his behavior causing her blood to boil.

"Don't you dare disrespect Hermione in my presence ever again." She growled at the Death Eater.

Dolohov laughed. "You don't intimidate me, madam. Save that for your poor ass excuse of a husband. And speaking of poor asses, Lucius! Evening!" he said in mock delight as he seen Lucius and Narcissa come into the kitchen. Lucius said nothing. All he could do was stare at his former comrade in disgust.

"Come family. I didn't realize the Weasley swallow could get any filthier." snarled Lucius as he stared at Dolohov as he went outside the door. Draco looked at Ginny and gave her a small bow, then followed his mother and father out of the house.

Dolohov snickered like a schoolboy. "You know where to report to on the 2nd, Mudblood. If you're not there, you, your filthy family, as well as your blood traitor boyfriend will cease to exist." said Dolohov triumphantly to Hermione. He then laughed as he walked out the door.

"Why that no good, pale tyrant!" yelled Molly, slamming the door after him. "Sending his bloody Death Eater scum to my home! Hermione dear, are you- Hermione, what's wrong?"

Molly and Arthur looked at Hermione's tear stained face. She looked as if she had been crying for hours.

"Honey, go get Ron." said Molly to Arthur as she directed Hermione to the sitting room and sat her beside Ginny.

Ginny looked at Hermione and instantly knew something was dreadfully wrong. She started rubbing Hermione on the back. The touch of attempted comfort made Hermione shiver.

Ron came down the stairs looking as if he had just rolled out of bed. He saw Hermione and instantly reacted to her, running over to her and touching her face.

"Mione, what's the matter? What's going on? Did they hurt you?" asked Ron frantically as he gently rubbed his thumbs on her cheeks.

Hermione just stared devastatingly at Ron. She didn't know where to begin, so she reached in her pocket and handed him a letter.

"Whats this? Oh bloody hell, are these the decrees?" said Ron taking the letters from Hermione and unfolding them. He looked over the first one, face etched in anger.

"Are you fucking kidding me Hermione?! They broke your wand?" yelled Ron.

"They didn't!" gasped Molly. Ron shoved the letter into his father's hands.

 _To Miss Hermione Jean Granger,_

 _Under the now instituted Decree No. 75, under the rule of our great leader, the Dark Lord, you are hereby required to be stripped of your ability to produce magic. You wand shall be broken immediately after reading this decree. It is now the law of the Dark Lord that no Muggleborn should be allowed to perform any means of magic._

 _Should you acquire another wand, you will be tried and charged with stealing magic, and your sentence will be immediate death._

 _Signed_

 _Antonin Dolohov_

 _Head Of Magical Law And Enforcement_

"That's hippogriff shit Dad!" yelled Ron. "They just can't take her magic from her! She was fucking born with it!"

"I know son, I know." said Arthur sadly as he looked at Hermione. "But there isn't anything we can do about it. Nothing."

"They...they broke my wand." whispered Hermione. "They broke my wand right in front of my face. They laughed at me, Ron. They threw stinging jinxes at me knowing I couldn't protect myself. Look at my arm"

She took off the jacket she was wearing and showed her deep almost black bruises on her arms. Molly ran to the kitchen to find something to rub on them. Ginny teared up as Ron lightly touched each one, his hands shaking with building rage. Molly came back and handed a canister of cream to her son.

"Come on, Mione. You need to go and rest." said Ron as he gently took her by the hand and led her upstairs to his room.

* * *

He tried his best to keep himself from blowing up, but his skin felt like it was on fire. Hermione stood against the wall, not looking at him as he paced back and forth in his room.

"I can't believe they did this to you, Hermione." said Ron. "It's fucking mental! There isn't anything illegal about you being magical, and that evil half blooded bastard knows it."

"Ron.."

"To break your wand! It's unbelievable! Did you keep the pieces? Can it possibly be repaired?" asked Ron, not hearing Hermione say his name.

"Ron, that's not-"

"And then to throw fucking hexes at you? Fucking tossers! I swear Hermione, if I ever see that pasty face bastard again, I'm gonna-"

"That's not the worst part, Ronald!" yelled Hermione, finally catching Ron's attention.

"What do you mean that's not the worst part?" asked Ron as he watched Hermione pull another letter out of her pocket.

Ron took the letter and read it. Hermione watched as his face scrunched up like it had the day he and Harry got into in on the hunt.

When he was done, he dropped the letter on the floor and walked out of the room. Hermione slid against the wall to the floor and picked up the letter.

She had read it at least 10 times since she had gotten it, thinking that maybe the words would change. But they stayed the same.

 _To Miss Hermione Jean Granger,_

 _Under the now instituted Decree No. 75, under the rule of our great leader, the Dark Lord, it is to become in effect on September 2nd,1998, that you, Miss Hermione Jean Granger and Master Vikor Gustav Krum are to be wed. This is to ensure that you shall not taint the pure blooded line of the Weasley Family with your muggle blood. Failure to comply to the terms of this arrangement will result in immediate death._

 _We await your answer of agreement and hope that this has found you well._

 _Signed,_

 _Antonin Dolohov_

 _Head Of Magical Law And Enforcement_


	3. Chapter 3: Chess

Chapter 3: Chess

The weeks leading up to Ginny and Hermione's marriages were extremely tense in the Burrow. Despite Molly reluctantly giving Ginny permission to spend a week at the Malfoys, Ginny opted out of it. She felt that she didn't want to willingly step into that place, especially after Lucius's behavior towards her family. Narcissa seemed okay, but she didn't want anything to do with Draco, nor his father.

Things had been even worse for Hermione and Ron. Since he read that Hermione had to marry Krum, Ron had found himself not wanting to interact with anybody. He wished he could march right to the Ministry and turn the place and everyone in it into dust.

Ron knew that Voldemort had to be having the time of his life treating them like his little puppets. Of all the people that he could have picked, he just had to pick Viktor Fucking Krum.

Why him? How? He didn't even think that Voldemort's control reached that far. If it hadn't reached places like Romania and France, then surely he didn't have control of Bulgaria. And how would he even know to seek Krum out? How did he know about the connection that he and Hermione had with the man?

Ron felt as if his world was crashing down. He was losing his sister to his arch enemy. He was losing the love of his life to the man who he had always feared he would lose her to. And it was all happening in a matter of days. Hadn't the death of his best mate and brother been enough? How much more did he have to endure until he would go insane?

Hermione also felt as if her life had been turned upside down. Stripped of her ability to do magic. No way to seek out her parents in Australia without putting them in danger. Being forced to marry someone that was not Ron. Sure, Viktor was a very good friend to her, as well as a nice and respectable gentleman. However, she had long gotten over her miniscule infatuation of the man. She loved Ron. It had always been Ron.

She sat in Ron's room on the extra bed, watching him play Wizard's Chess by himself on his bed. He was doing that a lot lately. As if the board would help him figure it all out. She watched his face as he would purposely put himself in the most compromising positions and work his way out of them. She had started to notice that he wouldn't move his queen, which was usually his key piece. Or if he did move it, it would only be a couple spaces over, and always behind another piece.

"Can I play with you?" she asked him so quietly, she almost wasn't heard. Ron glanced up at her from the board for a second and then back, nodding slightly.

She sat on his bed across from him and looked at the board. "Don't change anything, I want to look at this. " said Hermione as she studied the pieces they were still there. She wasn't the best at chess, especially against Ron, but she had learned some things from him to sometimes know what he was going to do. And from the way things were set up, it didn't look like just a casual game.

"Sweetheart, what are you trying to do?" she asked him as her finger lightly touched the horse head of the knight.

Ron looked at Hermione, his beautiful cerulean eyes that usually sparked despite what was going on seemed dull and drained. Hermione longed to put the color back into them.

"I'm trying to protect the queen." he said.

"I thought in chess, it was your job to protect the king."

"Sometimes the queen needs protection. The king is pretty much useless" said Ron, almost as if he hated it.

"Why would you say that? The king is the most important piece, isn't it?" asked Hermione.

"Actually, that's not true. The queen is. She is the one that can make all the moves except for the way the knight moves. She is the one helps the king the most. Without the queen, the king is nothing. So she needs to be protected."

Hermione felt her stomach knot up. This wasn't about the game.

"Ron, the queen will be fine." said Hermione. "You said so yourself, she makes almost all the moves. She can get herself out of many situations and knock obstacles out of her way easily."

"Not this time." said Ron, glumly.

"All the time, Ron. And sometimes, she has to sacrifice herself for her king. For the kingdom."

"Yeah? Well why?!" shouted Ron, startling Hermione a bit. "Why does the queen always have to be the one to save the king's ass? Why can't the king make some moves to protect himself as well as his queen? He hides behind his family and friends while they get slaughtered and then, to make it worse, he sends his most important person in his life to fight for him rather than protect her. Fuck that, it's wrong!"

"Ron, please..."

"Don't do that Hermione." interrupted Ron, growing more and more upset. "Don't try to smooth this over like it's nothing. I don't want to sit here and do anything for you. I don't want to lose my queen." he said as tears started to fall down his cheeks and onto the board.

Hermione crawled over to Ron and hugged him close to her, his head sitting below her chin. Ron clung to her as if she was his lifeline. He pulled her onto his lap and buried his face into her bosom.

"You're not going to lose me Ron." whispered Hermione as she kissed his crimson locks. "And I don't want to lose you. Whatever happens, whatever has to happen, we will fight this. This can possibly work in our favor."

"How?" Ron muffled into her chest.

"Viktor is my friend. Our friend. He would want me to be happy, despite this forced upon union. Maybe he could get you to live with us. And we could still be together. And then we could find a way to get my parents. He would do it, Ron. You know he would."

Ron wanted very much to tell her that she was completely wrong. However, he knew that Hermione was right. Krum would want her to be happy and would more than likely do anything to ensure her happiness. At least he could give the man that much credit. Still, a small nagging doubt in the back of his mind had taken root, and was determined to stay there.

"I just want to protect you." muffled Ron.

Hermione smiled as she kissed the top of his head once again. "You do protect me. You're protecting me right now. Even though from the looks of it, you're cowering."

* * *

Ron smiled and lightly nipped Hermione's chest with his teeth, causing her to suck in a breath. Ron sighed at her reaction and did it again, sucking in the little bit of her skin, making Hermione give out a tiny moan.

"Mr Weasley, what is it that you think you are doing?"

"Taking care of my queen of course." said Ron, lifting up his head and pressing his lips against hers.

Hermione sighed as she kissed Ron back, her fingers running slowly and gently into Ron's soft tendrils. She adjusted her legs so she was now straddling him, their midsections touching. She could feel him getting excited through his jeans.

Their tongues intertwined as the kiss deepened, both of them needing this closeness with each other. Ron slipped his hands up the back of Hermione's shirt, her soft skin goose bumping at the touch of his cool fingers.

His lips moved down to her smooth brown sugar toned neck, gently nibbling and kissing a trail down to her collar.

He gently pushed Hermione's shirt over her head, his blue eyes now shining vibrantly as he took in the sight of Hermione's red lace covered breasts.

"You're gorgeous, Hermione." said Ron as he felt himself getting harder and harder. He took off his shirt, showing off his broad shoulders and his Quidditch and yard work chiseled arms and chest. Now it was Hermione's turn to be turned on, as the sight of his creamy milk dusted with cinnamon skin draped over firm muscle sent a shivers through her body.

She brought her lips to his shoulder, kissing sweetly from the top of his shoulder, down his arm, ending at his fingertips. The gesture so lovely, it almost brought tears to both their eyes.

The chessboard and pieces fell against the floor as Hermione laid back on Ron's bed, pulling Ron gently with her as he passionately attacked her breasts. He pulled down her bra from over her breasts, exposing her hardened nipples that seemed to cry out for him to take them. He licked at one teasingly, making Hermione bite her bottom lip in pleasure at the feel of Ron's mouth taking her breast in. Her fingers brushed lightly against his back, she could feel his muscles responding and flexing to the sensation of her touch.

She exhaled his name, the sound of his coming breathlessly from her lips made Ron delirious with ecstasy. His lips left her breasts and his hands went to her skirt, grabbing hold to both the waist of her skirt and her knickers, pulling them down and off of her.

This wasn't the first time that Hermione and Ron had made love. They had actually done so a few times before. The first time that they had done anything, it was during their stay at Shell Cottage a couple weeks after they had arrived and Hermione had recovered. What had started off as the two of them talking and cuddling, turned into a night of affectionately giving themselves to one another unbeknownst to anyone. So while the two of them had both seen the most intimate parts of each other, it didn't take away from the fact they still found themselves enchanted with one another.

Ron ran his huge, strong hands up Hermione's slender legs and over her thick thighs. He gently scratched at them, he could honestly say that his favorite part of Hermione was indeed her thighs. Hermione arched a bit at the tingle that Ron was putting in her spine. She wanted him badly, much more than she ever thought she would. His touches were driving her insane.

"Ron, please. I want you inside me." whispered Hermione as she looked Ron dead in his eyes. That was all Ron needed to hear, as he moved his body in between her legs, his member at her entrance.

Hermione inhaled sharply as Ron made his way into her folds, slowly, the combination of her wetness and her tight center causing Ron to groan. He soon had a rhythm going, making Hermione's body feel like it was on fire from the heat of passion that he was giving her.

She scratched his back gently as he started to thrust deeper and deeper inside her. He started to pick up speed, causing Hermione to arch her back and cry out, her body almost to the point of no return.

They crashed their lips into each other as Ron proceeded to go faster and faster. Hermione dug her nails into Ron's tough flesh, the pain motivating him to go deeper, harder, stronger.

He felt himself reaching his breaking point as he slid out of Hermione long enough to effortlessly flip her onto her stomach so he could enter her from behind. He kissed all the way up Hermione's spine as he made his way back inside of her and resumed their love making. Hermione clawed at Ron's sheets as he lifted up her hips so he could go even deeper inside of her, the impact he was making was causing her to almost rip holes into them.

He held onto her hips as he came hard, his essence mixing with hers as she came along with him. Ron laid on top of Hermione, out of breath, as he tucked his arms under her body. Hermione didn't mind having him on top like this. It was comfortable, like having a living blanket.

Hermione turned her head so that her and Ron's cheeks were touching. "You know, we never really played the game." she said, grinning from ear to ear.

Ron laughed. "Best believe Hermione, you had me in checkmate a long, long time ago." he said, kissing her on the cheek.


	4. Chapter 4: Broomsticks And Dirty Tricks

Chapter 4: Broomsticks And Dirty Tricks

*START DREAM*

"What do you want to do when you grow up?"

"Make lots of money, travel the world, meet new people. All while feeling the wind in my hair as I zoom around a Quidditch pitch."

"I've should have known. You're an excellent chaser, you are."

"And you're the best seeker Hogwarts has ever seen."

"Better not let Charlie hear you say that. I wouldn't want your brother killing me because I took his place."

"*laughs* What about you? What do you want to do?"

"It's a secret."

"Keeping secrets from each other already? Not a good way to start the relationship, Mr. Potter."

"You're right, love. Fine. I want a proper life. A wife, two, maybe three kids. My best mates by my side. I want everything my parents had. Only I want the ability to enjoy it."

"You'll have that someday, Harry. I'm sure of it."

*END DREAM*

Ginny woke up to a book that Hermione had been reading being pushed off of her bed, her perfect little dreamworld interrupted.

She looked at her watch. 3:42 AM. Great. Nice hour to be fully awake for no reason.

She decided to go downstairs and fix herself a cup of tea. Perhaps the warmth would soothe her and cause her to drift back to sleep once again. She made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she found Ron, sitting at the table, nursing what looked like mug of hot cocoa, eyes concentrating on an invisible spot on the wall.

Ron looked over at his sister and cracked a smile. He beckoned her over to join him, conjuring up a hot cocoa for her as well. Ginny nodded a thanks as she sat down across from Ron and brought the mug to her lips.

Ron missed having actual conversations with his sister. However, he didn't force her talk and act like she was broken for not doing it. Instead, he just tried to guess what she was trying to communicate by her facial expressions and gestures.

"Bad dream?" Ginny shook her head. "Harry dream?" Ginny nodded, looking down at the table.

"I know, I miss him too. We all do." said Ron. "But Harry wouldn't want us to brood over him like this."

Ginny gave Ron a look as if to say that Harry used to always brood so why shouldn't she. Ron chuckled.

"I know, I know, that was Harry's thing. Harry's. Not yours. Besides, you have more important things to worry about than to sit around and sulk. You're gonna be a Malfoy by the end of the night." said Ron sadly.

Ginny rolled her eyes, as if you say don't remind her. She grumpily took another sip. She raised her wand and wordlessly summoned her new shadow quill and a colorful notebook, a birthday present from Bill, seeing as she still didn't want to use her voice. Still, despite the present, she only really used it when speaking to Ron and Hermione. They were the only ones she felt she could open up to.

"I don't want to do this. It's complete bullshit." the quill wrote on a black piece of parchment.

"Believe me, I know. I don't want you to. But what choice do we have?" asked Ron.

"I'm of age now Ron. I don't have the trace anymore. Let's me, you, and Hermione run away to America or something. We could just live out our lives there." the quill wrote.

"They can still find us, Gin. That stupid decree remember? And even without the decree they could still track us with apparition and the floo network." said Ron slamming his mug down on the table, causing Ginny to jump.

"What's wrong?" wrote the quill.

"I feel fucking useless, that's what's wrong." exclaimed Ron, angrily. "I can't do anything to protect my sister, nor my girlfriend. I'm losing you to that prick Malfoy, and Hermione to bloody fucking Krum."

"At least you'll know that Hermione would be treated nicely though." wrote the quill.

"I don't know that for sure. War changes people, even the ones that didn't fight in it. And besides, it's the principle of the matter. Why him? Why the fuck Krum?!" said Ron standing up and throwing the mug against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

Ginny went over and hugged her brother tight. Ron stood stiff, stone faced, and fuming. It was taking everything in him not to mess something up.

"Let's have a fly." the quill wrote. "We haven't done that in a long time and who knows when we could do it again."

Ron looked at the floating notebook in his face. He sighed and softened up a bit as he agreed.

The two went outside and over to the broom shed. There were their old Cleansweeps, Ron's broom that he had gotten in 5th year as a reward for making prefect, as well as Harry's Firebolt that he had left Ginny to ride on last summer. The two looked at the broom and sighed. Harry would have been out here with them right now if he was alive.

They mounted their brooms and zoomed off into the night. The air was a good mix of warm and cool, and the sky was painted with stars. A beautiful crescent moon hung high in the ink colored sky.

All of a sudden, Ginny started laughing. Ron couldn't help but laugh along with her as they raced around in the air. It had been a long time since she had laughed. Months long in fact.

The two flew around the Burrow until almost dawn. They then sat together under their swing tree that was near their pond and watched the sun rise, enjoying what would probably be one of the last times they could have sibling fun after today.

* * *

Narcissa and Draco sat in the parlor waiting for Lucius to finish some paperwork so that they could go to the Ministry. It was almost time to sign the marriage contract.

"Don't make me do this, Mother." said Draco as he brushed off his shirt.

Narcissa sighed as she fixed Draco's collar. "She doesn't seem that bad of a girl, Draco."

"She's a Weasley, Mother. A bloody Weasley."

"Stop that." said Narcissa sternly. "What have they done to you? Rather, what has she done to you? I know you and her brother have had encounters in the past, but this girl didn't do anything to you that you didn't deserve."

Draco groaned. His mother did have a point. Ginny never crossed him except for the one time that she hexed him in 5th year. He had deserved it, however, as he was holding her captive.

"I just don't want to go through with this, Mother." said Draco. "And she doesn't want to either. And isn't she a student?"

"She's of age now and the Dark Lord has thrown her along with the other blood traitors out of Hogwarts." said Narcissa.

"How would this sham of a marriage even work? Neither of us like each other. We don't talk to each other. She doesn't even call me by my first name, for Merlin's sake."

Narcissa took hold of Draco's hands. "Promise me darling, that you will not be a tyrant to this young woman. Promise me that the two of you will try to get along, for your own sakes. You'll be spending forever with each other, and it would be a shame to live in misery for the rest of your lives."

"Mother..."

"Draco, I'm serious. Be a gentleman. Be nice. Don't try to control her. Be a good husband." said Narcissa, staring sternly at her son, daring him to disagree.

Draco sighed and nodded. Lucius had come down from his office and beckoned his family to follow him outside. "Let's get this unfortunate event over with." he grumbled as the family walked out to the awaiting Ministry limo. Though Voldemort hated muggles, he found their means of transportation, especially limousines to be luxurious, so he used them regularly. He also liked to have people use them as a false sense of superiority, only to have the rug pulled under them once in his presence.

The trip was long, giving Draco time to think. He didn't want this. He didn't want any part of this. He had decided a long time ago, even knowing that he was betrothed to Pansy, that he wanted to live the good life until 25. He wanted to have fun, to party, and to live as a bachelor for as long as he could. He wanted many notches on his belt, and for women to fawn all over him like they did in school.

However, that life had been stopped before it could even start. True, he didn't want this marriage, but he wasn't going to be like his father and the other Death Eaters and step out on his wife. His mother had indeed taught him how to treat the woman that he was in a relationship with. And the disappointment of his mother meant more to him than his father nowadays. He had lost a lot of respect for his father after his sixth year.

He thought about what his life would be like tied down to a Weasley. Ginny wasn't as unsightly as her brothers. Dare he say it, she was actually very attractive. She had almond eyes that were the color of molasses that seemed to look into your soul and beyond. Her milky skin wasn't covered with a zillion specks of dirt like the others. Instead, she had a tiny cluster that draped elegantly over her nose, as if a painter meticulously placed each one there, making them not too dark, and not too light.

Her body was athletically built, but not in a way that took away from her feminine beauty. Her slants and curves were in all the right places, and even though she seemed as if she wasn't but a mere 5'4, her legs were long, appeared smooth to the touch, and very amazing to look at. There had been many talks between him, Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott about what they wanted to do with those legs.

Her hair wasn't as orange as it had been her first couple of years at Hogwarts. It was now a more mature blend of a freshly red rose color and gold that reminded him of Christmas Eve. That night when the fire would be low in the fireplace, but burning beautifully and casting a comfortable warmth and glow around the room as he and his mother used to sip hot cocoa and tell stories. But, when she was flying swiftly and flawlessly around the Quidditch pitch, her hair looked liked an inferno chasing after her in the sun. It was mesmerizing to watch as he would see her play during matches that weren't against Slytherin. But he would never tell her that.

Looks wouldn't be an issue when it came to this marriage. It would be that bloody attitude. He knew full well about that Weasley temper when it came to the girl of the family, having heard about it, witnessed it, and worst, been on the receiving end of it. She had a mouth on her that would make a sailor cringe, and her hexes were none to fuck around with. That would be where they would clash because Draco could dish it out just as easily as she could. He pictured many, many arguments in their marriage before he could put that mouth of hers in its place.

When they got to the Ministry, they were met by a low ranking Death Eater, who ushered then into a waiting room to wait for the Weasley's to arrive. A few minutes later, Molly, Arthur, Ron, and Ginny walked into the door. The group was then led down a long hallways with an elevator at the end of it. They all got in, the Death Eater pushed a combination of buttons, and then they slowly ascended.

Neither family looked at one another. Everyone seemed to be occupied with either the ceiling, the buttons, or the floor.

When they had reached their destination, they were led down another dark hallway to a huge black door with the Dark Mark etched onto it. The Death Eater shuttered as he opened the door and walked in.

* * *

"My...My Lord, the Malfoy and Weasley families have...have...have arrived sir." he said in a shaky and extremely scared voice.

Voldemort turned from the window he was looking out of. He looked both frustrated as well as amused.

"Mr. Hoffman, you still tremble at my presence?" mocked Voldemort. "Such a wimp of a wizard you are. Thank goodness for your drink making. Otherwise you would be useless to me. Now, let them in and be off."

The man showed them inside and left in a rush, closing the door quickly behind him.

Ron looked upon the cloaked, pale, and almost sickly sight of Lord Voldemort. He felt his blood come to a rolling boil and had quickly came up with about fifty ways to hex the bastard into oblivion. However, he was powerless to do anything, as they all were ordered to leave their wands at home.

"Why the long faces? The two most celebrated pureblood families in the wizarding world are about to be joined together. That doesn't excite you? That doesn't fill you up with pride?" laughed Voldemort as he approached the group of irate witches and wizards.

He approached Ginny, eyes looking as if he was almost enchanted by her presence. "Ginevra Weasley." he said, lightly touching the girl's cheek, causing Molly to suck in a harsh breath. "You have grown into a most beautiful young witch. If it wasn't for the fact that you were a filthy blood traitor, I would have tamed you and made you my wife. You would have bore me droves of lovely pure blooded children."

Ginny's quill and notebook shot up from her pocket and wrote angrily. "Kind of hard to have pureblood kids with a half blood. Or have you forgotten what you are, Tom."

Voldemort growled but quickly gained his composure. "Nothing to say Ginevra?"

"You took her voice you pasty prick!" yelled Ron. Molly and Arthur jumped at the sound of their son standing up to the most evil wizard since Grindelwald.

"Your brother however, seems to have his tongue in fine working order." said Voldemort and he got into Ron's face. Ron, who matched Voldemort in height, stood strong and firm, looking the man dead into his violently red eyes, showing no signs of intimidation.

"Gryffindors." scoffed Voldemort. "Always wanting to show off bravery and nobility. Tell me, how is your Mudblood? Have you fucked her yet?"

Ron's clenched his hands into a fist so tight, his knuckles almost split his skin.

"Oh, so you have? So I guess you will be a bit vexed when the Bulgarian friend of hers fucks her too, yeah? Don't worry. He will be sure to treat her well. So well, that you would be a faded memory. And if not, I'm sure he will have ways of making sure she doesn't mention your name."

"If you or Krum harm one hair on her head, I swear to Merlin, I'll kill the lot of you. I'll hold your dying heart in my hands." growled Ron, making even Lucius and Draco quiver a bit with fear.

Voldemort simply smiled. "Normally a threat like that would merit punishment. But you'll get enough of that for the rest of your life starting very soon." he said turning away and walking back over to his desk. Molly walked over to her son and rubbed his arms to try to make him calm down.

"Now, onto the matter at hand. Draco my boy, Ginevra my dear, come up to the desk please." he said calmly as he sat down.

Ginny showed no fear as she walked up to the desk. Narcissa had a hard time letting go of Draco's shoulders, but she finally did and let Draco walk up as well.

"Now, join hands. Don't cower. You're acting like you're not going to spend the rest of your lives with each other." teased Voldemort like a schoolyard bully.

Draco looked over at Ginny and held out his hand. Ginny reluctantly took it, and the both of them ignored the spark as well as immediate comfort they each felt from their touches. Voldemort pointed his wand to their hands. A gold beam shot out, encasing their hands in a warm golden glow. When the glow faded, gold bands had encircled their ring fingers.

Ginny let go of Draco's hand and looked at the ring as if it was the most evil thing in the world. She looked at Voldemort and sneered. Draco sighed, eyeing the ring as well.

Voldemort grinned evilly at the two, his red eyes glowing with pride in his punishment. "If either of you try to get rid of those rings, you will be cursed. I'll spare you the nasty details, but the end results will be that you'll die. You also have 48 hours to consummate your marriage."

"WHAT?!" yelled the Weasleys and Draco. Ginny's jaw dropped so wide, you would have thought it touched the floor.

"Have you lost your fucking mind, you pale tosser?!" yelled Ron, grabbing Ginny's arm and pulling her towards the family. "You just forced her to marry this bloody wanker and now you're forcing her to fuck him in less than two fucking days?! You're barbaric!"

Voldemort grinned. "You will unhand Draco's wife, young Weasley. You must not realize that this is indeed a marriage and marriages aren't official in the wizarding world unless there is a consummation. If your sister and new brother in law don't do the deed, well, as I said about the rings, I'll spare your the nasty details, but the end results will be that they'll die. Now you don't want the death of your only sister to be on your conscious, now do you?"

Ron glared at the man as he left go of Ginny's arm. He had never been so mad in his entire life. And it was only going to get worse tomorrow.

"Are there any more questions? No? Good. You all may go. I hope you live a glorious life Mrs. Ginevra Malfoy." chuckled Voldemort.

"Go to hell, you noseless prick." wrote the quill as Ginny stared down Voldemort again with no fear. Voldemort stood up and stared her down right back, his eyes emitting anger at her rudeness.

Draco couldn't help but admire the fact that Ginny didn't back down from the man. He could tell that it wasn't just because she was a Gryffindor.

Still, as much as he admired her bravery, he wasn't about to stand there and watch her get hexed, so he gently took hold of her arm and pulled her along with everyone that was walking away. As much as Ginny wanted to snatch away, she allowed it, as she felt that if he didn't, something bad would have happened, even though at that moment she didn't really care.

Ron looked back at the smiling king of evil and growled. He wanted nothing more than to give Voldemort a well placed Sectumsempra, and to watch his blood running down his body like a crimson river onto the floor.


	5. Chapter 5: Malfoy Manor

Chapter 5: Malfoy Manor

The group made their way to the entrance of the Ministry. Lucius got into the car, pouting like a dignified five year old, while Narcissa and Draco waited outside for Ginny and the Weasley's to say their goodbyes. Molly instantly started sobbing and clung to Ginny so closely, the poor girl's face was almost crushed by her chest.

"Mum...can't breathe." wrote the quill. Molly sniffled as she relaxed her hold.

Draco stood against the Ministry car and rolled his eyes. He hated drawn out tearful goodbyes. What was the use of them?

Molly then turned to Narcissa, her eyes red and glistening with the water that was continuing to build up in them. "Please..." was all that she could get out, but Narcissa understood and nodded.

"I assure you, under my roof your daughter will be fine." she said, putting a reassuring hand on Molly's shoulder, trying her best to bring some kind of comfort.

Arthur hugged and kissed Ginny through the tears rolling down his cheeks. He then took Molly into his arms and walked over to the car that they had arrived in.

Ginny's quill moved with lightning speed while she and Ron hugged. Ron stared Draco down as he embraced his sister.

"If anything happens to my sister Malfoy, I'll kill you." said Ron. "I don't give a damn about that old prick in there. I. Will. Kill. You."

Draco looked back at Ron, unphased by the threat. Narcissa had wanted to intervene, however, she knew that as Ginny's older brother, he was bound to be protective.

Ginny tore the piece of parchment that had just been written on, folded it up, and stuck it in Ron's jacket pocket.

"Dont read this until after everything happens tomorrow, promise?" the quill wrote on a clean sheet.

Ron nodded, trying his best not to cry in front of the Malfoys. He didn't want to show any sign of weakness to Draco. He wanted to make sure Draco knew he meant what he said.

"I'll send Pig with your wand, yeah?" said Ron hugging Ginny one last time as she nodded. He then watched as Narcissa, Draco, and Ginny entered the car. He stood there stone faced and watched the car drive off into the distance.

The car ride started out as quiet as a tomb. Ginny sat across from Draco, observing him as he looked out the window at nothing in particular.

She never really had the opportunity to sit and look at him in school with everything going on, but now that she had the chance, she couldn't help but be captivated by his actual beauty. The thought of herself being attracted to Draco Malfoy disgusted her, however she couldn't deny that Draco was a very wonderful specimen to observe.

Draco no longer wore his hair in that stuck up gelled back hairstyle like he used to in his younger days. His well styled hair was now a bit longer in the front than it was the back, with a few delicate tendrils hanging in his face. His skin was no longer that sickly color it was during his sixth and most of his seventh year. It looked healthier, smoother, more like an 18 year old should look. His eyes, though bored looking at the moment, were like storm clouds that wouldn't dare unleash the rain within them. She had never noticed that his eyes were actually gray and not the pale blue she thought she had seen in passing.

His lips weren't thin as he pushed them in and out absentmindedly. They were full and a pale pink that went well with his skin. As she looked at him in even more detail, she noticed by the fit of his shirt that he had enough muscle to accommodate his not too lanky frame. '

'He would be the perfect man, if he wasn't such a prat.' Ginny said to herself.

"I hope you will come to like it at our home." said Narcissa, pulling Ginny out of her thoughts. Ginny nodded slowly, as she prepared from what she felt would be an attempt at a conversation.

"You're a Malfoy now. So everything that is ours is now yours." said Narcissa sweetly. "You are allowed free reign of the manor, with the exception of mine and Mr. Malfoy's private quarters and the dungeons. You will have your own room, however, as Draco and you are married, it's customary that you two share a room, be it Draco's or yours."

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy." the quill wrote slowly.

Narcissa smiled. "No need for the formalities. After all, I am your mother-in-law. You may call me Narcissa or Cissy, if you prefer."

Ginny forced a small smile. She could tell that Narcissa was trying despite her husband sitting beside her looking less than thrilled over the situation and her.

"Ginny." wrote the quill. "You can call me Ginny."

Narcissa smiled, nodding at the young girl. She could tell that she was going to be rather fond of Ginny. She had always wanted a daughter, and though circumstances actually forced one up in her, she was going to make the best of it and hoped that Ginny would allow her to.

Lucius scoffed at the conversation. He wanted nothing to do with the redheaded urchin of his nemesis. Her attire alone was enough to make him want to vomit. Her parents knew she was stepping into the higher end of pureblood society, and they weren't even decent enough to give her a proper dress? He had to admit however, that at least the Weasley girl was attractive enough. The children she were to spawn would at least not look like grindylows.

* * *

The car finally arrived at Malfoy Manor. Ginny was the last to get out of the car and she couldn't help but be positively awestruck.

The manor was massive to say the least. Though the outside was all black, it didn't seem ominous or uninviting. The pebbled walkway was lined with walls made of weaved vines. There were fountains on either side of the walkway that seemed to resemble the ones that Ginny had seen in her Muggle Studies book on the chapter about Greek Mythology.

She walked slowly behind the rest, looking around, taking in her surroundings. Narcissa looked back at the girl and couldn't help but smile. That's how she looked when she saw the manor for the first time herself.

When they got into the manor, Ginny found herself once again blown away.

The entranceway itself was could more than likely fit her house into it. The floor was made of pure snow white marble that Ginny knew the sounds of footsteps against it would drive her mother insane. The walls were a deep mahogany color, draped with paintings of what looked like old relatives. Most of the paintings sneered generously at Ginny, while a couple of them actually smiled and greeted her warmly, much to Lucius's annoyance. He summoned a house elf to take his cloak and cane and screamed how he wanted a hard brandy, and walked off, intending on not seeing anyone else for the rest of the night.

Ginny stood awkwardly in the middle of the entrance way beside her trunk that had been magically grown back to its normal size after she took it out of her pocket. Draco looked at the tattered and beat up hand me down that had the initials 'P.W.' on it. He almost commented on its appearance until he realized that the initials stood for the brother that she had lost. It must have belonged to him once before.

"I'll have an elf vanish that to your extra room if that's okay with you dear." said Narcissa. Immediately, a house elf popped out of nowhere, touched the trunk, and disappeared with it.

"Draco will show you around before taking you to his room. There are night clothes in there for you already, as well as something for tomorrow. I had planned on us going out tomorrow to get you a new wardrobe."

Ginny shook her head. "No, that's not necessary." the quill wrote. "I wouldn't be able to pay you back for any of it."

Narcissa smiled kindly and put her hand on Ginny's shoulder. "You are a Malfoy now. Our money is just as much yours as it is Draco's and you are free to spend it on whatever you choose. Clothing included." she said with a wink.

Ginny nodded contently. She felt herself developing a bit of a soft spot for Narcissa.

"It looks as if we won't be formally dining tonight so if you want something, simply summon an elf and it will be brought to you. I'll leave you two to get to know each other yes?" said Narcissa. "Draco, remember what I told you."

"Yes mother." said Draco in a voice that said he was clearly over it. Narcissa gave her son one more look of warning, and then walked off.

Draco looked at Ginny and sighed. 'The Gods better have a special place reserved for me in the afterlife for what I have to endure today and for the rest of my bloody fucking life with this Weasley girl.' he said to himself.

Come on Weasley, follow me." he said, annoyed. Ginny looked at Draco, eyes shrinking in irritation.

"Don't you think that using my first name would be proper, husband?" the quill wrote.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine. Ginevra."

"Ginny." wrote the quill.

"Whatever. Just come on" said Draco holding out his arm for Ginny to take.

Ginny gave his arm a suspicious look before taking it. They then set off on a tour as Draco gave a brief description of rooms that they passed and portraits that were hanging.

He showed her a grand ballroom that rivaled the great hall at Hogwarts. The room was white with yellow accents on the walls and high windows that let the light in perfectly. There was a huge grand piano along with other musical instruments. A couple guitars, drums, a huge cello, a couple of flutes, a violin, and the most beautiful golden harp Ginny had ever seen.

Ginny loved music, especially the harp. Her brother Charlie had one made for her for her 10th birthday made of the dragon heartstring of a Chinese Fireball that had died. She had taught herself to play with the help of Charlie and Percy, as they couldn't afford any real music tutors. Over the years, she had gotten extremely good at playing it.

Draco watched her closely as Ginny lightly touched the harp, gently strumming the strings as if it was as fragile as a newborn baby. He couldn't help but admire the way she took the harp in. As if it was precious to her already.

"You play?" he asked as he watched Ginny continue to inspect the harp.

Ginny looked at Draco shyly. She almost didn't want to say anything, but he had asked. "Since I was a kid." wrote the quill. "Never on anything this gorgeous before."

Draco nodded. "It's rather old actually. My grandmum used to play. I don't remember a lot of her playing, but Mother used to tell me stories about how the only way to get me to sleep sometimes when I was a baby, was for my grandmum to play on this harp." he said, the corners of his mouth daring to twitch.

Ginny was shocked that Draco had opened up and shared such a personal memory with her. She then took his arm once again and walked with him. Soon they were swapping stories about their childhood. Ginny learned that his grandmum had died when he was about five, with his grandfather following her in death a year later. He told her about him running around playing with the house elves as he had very few friends besides Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini over. They compared being an only child to being the youngest of seven, with Ginny making Draco actually laugh at some of the stories about the twins and Ron that she shared, them being the closest to her.

Draco led her outside to the back gardens. Ginny felt as if she had died and gone to some wonderful paradise as she gazed upon the fields of flowers, some she would see in an everyday garden, and some were so rare she wondered where exactly were they from and how did they get them.

"This is absolutely gorgeous, Draco." the quill wrote as Ginny walked with Draco, wonder struck with her surroundings. Draco smiled a genuine, satisfied smile as he watched Ginny become enamored with the beauty that was his mother's gardens.

After summoning an elf and eating outside, they went back in where Draco showed her his private library. Though Ginny wasn't as big a reader as Hermione, she couldn't help but be amazed at how many books were in the room.

* * *

By the time they had reached Draco's part of the house, night was beginning to fall. Draco opened the doors to his room hesitantly and let Ginny in.

She thought she would see a dark room filled with green and silver and the sense of depression and evil. True, the room was green and silver, but it was bright and vibrant. The room itself was as big as the sixth year dorm in Gryffindor, huge sliding glass doors led out to a balcony that sat facing the gardens and the endless night sky. His bed was massive and inviting; her whole family could probably sleep comfortably in it. There was a huge wardrobe in the corner, as well as a big part of one of his walls being dedicated to a mirror.

She walked over to the bed where she seen the night clothes that Narcissa had mentioned. She picked them up and went to change in the loo that Draco had pointed out to her.

If Draco's bedroom was the size of her dorm, then his loo could very well fit her and Ron's bedrooms in it. The bathtub alone was the size of Ginny's full sized bed with its different taps that dispelled different soaps, scents, and bubbles, just like the prefects loo at school. She decided she would enjoy it some other time and just took a quick shower. She then changed into her night clothes. The material felt glorious to her skin, it had to be made of the finest silk, however, she was more content in sleeping in pajama shorts and a tank. She added that to the list of clothes in her head to purchase tomorrow.

She came out of the loo and gasped at the sight of Draco looking through her notebook. Even though the words that she wrote would fade so she wouldn't run out of parchment, she did have some pages of drawings that she had that stayed permanent. And Draco was now looking at a very private one that she had drawn of Harry's face.

She snatched the notebook quickly out of Draco's hands. "What the hell were you doing?!" the quill wrote angrily.

Draco shrugged. 'You're really asking me that as if I can't look through your things. You are after all, my wife now. So I'm at liberty to look at whatever I please of yours." said Draco smugly.

"Except this you bloody prat! These are private!" the quill wrote as Ginny glared harshly at Draco.

Draco couldn't help but grin. "You know, you're rather cute when you're angry." he said antagonizing her more by touching the edge of the notebook.

"And you're rather ugly when you're acting like a bloody prick!" yelled Ginny in a hoarse but loud voice, surprisingly both herself as well as Draco.

"Ah, so she does speak!" said Draco, amused. "I thought you were a bloody mute or some shit and I would have to read your nagging for the rest of my life."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes you idiot, I can talk." she said, her voice already tired from not being used since May.

"Then why haven't you been talking before? Who is more of the idiot? You for not talking when you can, or me getting you to actually speak and not write shit in your bloody journal."

"I...I just don't have a lot to say to anyone after..." whispered Ginny, unable to finish her sentence. She looked down at the floor and clutched her notebook to her chest closely.

Draco looked at her and decided not to press the issue any further. "Look, I won't look in your book anymore alright? And...if you don't feel like talking, you don't have to. It'll save me from hearing your annoying voice anyways."

Ginny sighed. If this was as close to being sincere as she could get Draco to be, then she would take it.

"Thank you" the quill wrote after she let her notebook go.

Draco shrugged as he got up and approached his bed. Ginny began to feel extremely scared. She had totally forgotten about the 48 hour rule, and she was not prepared at all for what had to happen.

Draco sensed her hesitation. "You're a virgin." he said as a statement more than a question.

"No shit, how did you guess?" the quill wrote sarcastically.

"Well actually with your popularity with blokes in school, especially since you dated that wanker Thomas, us Slytherins thought you had opened your legs in your 4th year. Well, that's what Zabini had said anyways." said Draco, smirking.

Ginny laughed. "No wonder he tried to get with me after Michael Corner." the quill wrote. "You'll let him down about it gently of course."

"So not even you and Potter?"

Ginny's face went from amusement to annoyance in a matter of seconds. "No. And from now on, please don't bring up Harry." wrote the quill.

"But what if I-"

"I mean it Draco. I don't want to...I just can't talk about him okay? Especially not with you." said Ginny, looking away.

Draco sighed and nodded. He would let the matter go for now.

"Tomorrow, I guess." he said.

"I'm sorry?" wrote the quill.

"Tomorrow we will do what we have to, alright? Frankly, I'm not in the mood to have an empty, unnecessary, and totally forced upon shag. You don't seem it either."

Ginny shook her head.

"Okay then. So are you getting in bed or not?" asked Draco.

"In your bed? I thought you was going to show me to my room and I'll sleep in there." wrote the quill while Ginny looked rather stunned at Draco.

"I don't feel like walking anymore. I'll show you tomorrow. Besides, I have to get used to your ass in my bed sometimes anyways, don't I?" he smirked.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shrugged as she went on the other side of Draco's bed and climbed in, under the covers. She couldn't help but melt as she laid on the softest bed her back had eyed touched. The sheets smelled crisp and clean with a nice hint of the cologne that Draco would normally wear. She felt a bit bad about herself for liking the way Draco smelled.

Draco waved his hand and the lights dimmed to a tiny glow. He turned away from Ginny and tried to get comfortable and not think about the fact that there was a hot girl (even if she was a hot girl that he hated) in his bed just inches away.

Ginny laid there for what seemed like hours and reflected. She had lost Harry, she had lost her family, and she had lost her last name within a mere few months. She didn't know if her heart could take any more loss and heartbreak.

After a while, Ginny fell asleep. Draco, who was wide awake the entire time, turned back over and faced her sleeping form. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at a venerable, more softer side of Ginny that he could tell only presented itself in slumber. He felt an unfamiliar tug at his insides. He scrunched up his nose and made himself comfortable.

He would deal with this woman. He would fuck her because he had to, speak to her because she was there, and try to get along with her for his sanity's sake.

But he promised himself right then and there as that pull nagged him, that he wouldn't fall for her. That would indeed never happen.


	6. Chapter 6: The Return Of Viktor Krum

This is gonna be a bit of a doozy of an Author's note.

Okay so a lot of people have been curious and have asked a bunch of questions when it came to the treatment of Hermione in this story. People have thought Voldy too nice, they thought it weird that he would let her live, they found it really weird that a union with Viktor Krum is happening and so on and so forth.

For those who read my stories, you guys know I always include a twist that seems crazy at first but makes sense in the end. This is one of those times.

Voldemort is acting out his own sweet revenge on the Weasleys and Malfoy family. Hermione and Ron especially, as you will find out in this chapter. Not everything is going to be as it seems.

I didn't want to put this because this basically gives the chapter away. However, this is a seriously dark chapter that will deal with a few triggers. Domestic violence as well as sexual violence (rape) are just two of those triggers.

I don't want anyone to be triggered by the graphic nature (I promise not to make it too graphic, however it will be described in not a pleasant way) of the chapter, so if that bothers you, please don't read past when Hermione yells at Viktor for calling her a b***h.

And if ever you go through something like this, please please please seek tell someone, get help, and get out.

Also, my accent writing sucks. So the only word I'll mess up that Krum says is Herm-own-ninny.

This chapter somewhat rewinds, so the beginning of it coincides with the previous chapter.

Now, on with the fic :)

* * *

Chapter 6: The Return Of Viktor Krum

Ron watched with a heavy heart as the car carrying his only sister pulled off and went down the street. He continued to watch the car until it disappeared with a corner turn.

He got into the other Ministry car with his family, feeling exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to just go home, lay down with Hermione, use her as a human teddy, and be content in knowing that maybe, just maybe, Ginny would be fine. However, he knew that it wouldn't be that easy.

He sat in silence as the car set off for home, thinking about how tomorrow would be just as bad, if not worse than today. He felt as if he was a stressed out man of 30 whose life was slowing unraveling, rather than a young adult who was 18 that shouldn't be having these worries in his premature life to begin with.

At 18, he was supposed to had graduated from Hogwarts and been either secure or well on his way of being secure in his new job of whatever it was he would be doing. He was supposed to be living it up, having fun with his family, his best mates, and being with Hermione.

Instead, he never finished school, he lost one best mate to war, and he was about to lose the other as well as his entire world to another man who in his eyes didn't deserve her.

When they arrived home, the house was quiet. Nothing but the occasional sniffle from Molly was heard as they all sat in the sitting room. The twins and Hermione had met them as they arrived and sat with them, not knowing how to start the conversation.

They all sat like that for a good 5 minutes before Molly and Arthur decided to go to their room. Molly couldn't take it.

After they left, Ron started speaking.

"The fucking prick." he said as he started bouncing his leg involuntarily. "He acted as if the whole matter was some sick twisted joke to him. He even brought up Hermione's marriage to Krum."

"What did he say?" asked Hermione.

"Don't make me repeat it."

"But, if it concerns me-"

"I said don't make me repeat it Hermione!" snapped Ron, unintentionally.

Hermione sat back stunned at Ron's outburst. Normally she would have pushed the issue, but seeing the intense anger in Ron's face indicated that it didn't need discussion. She simply took his hand and nodded.

"The bloody ferret and his family hardly said a word to stand up for themselves. Guess they are just like fuck it, you know? Ginny was brilliant, she was. She stood right up to the git. Told him to go to hell and called him a noseless prick. I was so proud of her." he said, pushing out a chuckle.

Fred and George grinned. "A Weasley through and through." said Fred.

"We taught her well, haven't we brothers?" said George smiling from ear to ear.

"So what happens with them now?" asked Hermione.

"Dunno really. I'm sending her Pig with her wand. I don't know if she can speak to us or visit or anything. That didn't come up." said Ron.

"Well they can't keep her locked in there!" yelled Fred. "Married or not, she isn't a prisoner."

"I don't think Ms. Malfoy will let that happen."said Ron, thinking about the words she had told his Mum before they has left. "She seems to be the only one with some sense in that family."

"What about Ferret Boy?" asked George. "How did he seem, the great sod."

"He just stood there looking like the bloody prat that he is. He didn't really say much until that bloody bastard mentioned that stupid consummation shit."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "What? What are you talking about?" asked Hermione frantically.

"Well, in order for the marriage to be a whole, they have 48 hours to fuck and if they don't they will be cursed. Apparently the last step to an official marriage is consummated or some shit." growled Ron, getting mad all over again just thinking about it.

"So he is basically forcing the two of them to have sex?! That's absolutely barbaric!" said Hermione. "Even if the matter is actually true, he shouldn't force it upon them, especially with a cursed time limit."

Ron looked over at Hermione confused. "What do you mean actually true?"

"I've read in a book of old wizarding laws that the process of a marriage ceremony isn't truly complete until the two consummate it. Under normal law, if the pair have not done the deed six months into their marriage, unless its a bound by blood marriage, it can be annulled. In other words, a marriage isn't a marriage without sex." explained Hermione.

"So I guess that means that you and bloody Krum have to shag as well then haven't you?" grumbled Ron.

"Oh shit..." mumbled Fred.

"Here we go..." mumbled George.

"Well, if Voldemort is going to treat our marriage like Ginny and Malfoy's, then I guess that will indeed have to happen." said Hermione in a low voice.

The twins looked at each other and sighed. To be the brightest witch of her age, she sure didn't think about tact.

"Oh so I guess you and Krum will rather enjoy yourselves then." said Ron getting angrier by the second.

"Shut up, Ron…." whispered George.

Hermione gasped. "Ron! I never said that-"

"He is probably jumping up and down and skipping about like a bloody firstie, he's so thrilled. Finally he is getting what he has been wanting since he first laid eyes on you." said Ron. He then closed his eyes, instantly regretting his words.

Hermione hopped up and stared daggers at Ron. "You take that back Ronald Weasley!" she yelled. "You're acting as if I'm going to enjoy myself or something!"

"Would you?! Seeing as it is indeed your precious Krum? Someone you actually get along with, yeah? The only person that seems to get the bitter end of this deal is me!" yelled Ron standing up.

Fred and George sat there looking back and forth at the two, hanging on their every word.

Hermione's mouth dropped. "Is that what you think?! That I'll actually be happy?!"

"Yeah, that's what I think!"

"Well then Ronald Weasley, you don't know me at all!" yelled Hermione, tears falling as she ran up to Ginny's now vacant room and slammed the door.

"Fuck." whispered Ron putting his face in his hands. He didn't mean for things to get out of hand like that, he really didn't mean a word that he said, and her certainly didn't mean to make her cry.

"And once again Ronniekins you allowed your jealousy and insecurities get the better of you. Good show." said Fred sarcastically, patting Ron on the back. Ron glared at his brother.

"Hey, don't be mad at us." said George. "You should be mad at yourself, mate. You know your little bookworm doesn't want this marriage either."

"Instead of pissing her off, you should be comforting her. Spending time. This is the last day you'll more than likely be able to for a long time, you know." said Fred.

Ron nodded. "You're right. I didn't mean to, I just...and what that manky bastard had said about them. Let me go sort this." he said as he hurried up the steps.

* * *

Ron knocked on Ginny's locked door, trying to convince Hermione to open it. After about a minute of knocking with no response, Ron magically unlocked the door and entered the room.

Hermione was lying down on Ginny's extra bed, crying into her pillow. Ron went over and sat down on the bed beside her, trying to touch her back.

Hermione flinched at his touch. She turned and looked angrily at him. Ron threw up his hands in surrender.

"Look Mione, I'm sorry for all that okay? This is just as hard on you as it is on me, and I need to remember that. Shit, its even harder on you actually." said Ron softly.

"You really think I would enjoy being with a man that I have no love for Ronald? Especially knowing that it's a man you despise?" snapped Hermione, willing the tears away from her eyes. "I would never, Ron. I could never feel for him the way I feel about you. We could never be like we are to each other. And I wouldn't want that. Why can't you see that?"

"I'm sorry. Look, I was already mad at the fact that Voldemort taunted me about the two of you today. He said some things, made Krum sound like a god and you his whore. It made me sick to my stomach, Hermione. I don't want to think about what..."

Ron couldn't speak on it anymore. Hermione sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "Ron, I love you. And I will always love you, despite the lives that we are being forced to live. And maybe Viktor and I can work something out in secret. He's my friend after all. He would want to see me happy, and he knows that my happiness is with you."

Ron shook his head. "This is different, Mione. You'll be bound to this man now. He'll be your husband and he actually likes you, so he will treat you like a wife is supposed to be treated, I believe. He wouldn't want me around."

"Can we not talk about this right now?" asked Hermione as she rubbed Ron's shoulders, feeling the tenseness. "I just want to enjoy my time with you. I don't want to think about Viktor, or Voldemort, or anything that isn't good for us. I only want to focus on you and I."

Hermione got off the bed and locked Ginny's door. She walked back over to Ron and pushed him back on the bed. She straddled him and kissed him deeply as Ron pushed his hands under her shirt, feeling the softness of her back.

Ron woke up to Fred's voice calling him and Hermione for dinner. He looked over at a sleeping Hermione, her head laying on his shoulder. He looked at her naked shoulder, her smooth skin reminded him of the brown sugar spread his mother would make for toast and biscuits. Her face looked peaceful, happy, she looked as if she was actually having a good dream. He almost didn't want to wake her, however, he knew that if they didn't get downstairs fast enough, the room would be filled with people that he knew wouldn't appreciate their nakedness in his sister's room.

He woke up an irritated Hermione and the two of them got dressed and went downstairs. Fred and George looked at them with smirks on their faces. Bill and Fleur sat at the table as well, along with baby Victoire, the only thing besides baby Teddy Lupin that came out good and pure from this war.

"Evening." said Bill, looking at his youngest brother with amusement.

"Ummm, evening?" said Ron slowly, confused at all the attention he and Hermione was getting. "Something smells good. What you make Mum?"

Molly looked at her son and scoffed. "Oh honestly!" she huffed as she went back to preparing the food.

Hermione caught on quickly and his her face behind her hands, causing Fleur to blush and giggle.

"Next time Ronnie, you might want to put up a silencing charm before you cause someone to make the noises that we had to endure for the past hour and a half." said Bill, his smiled widening.

Ron's ears turned as red as his hair with embarrassment.

That night, Hermione and Ron laid together in his bed. Neither one said anything. There wasn't anything needed to be said. They just wanted to be close to one another. Ron ran his fingers through Hermione's thick brown hair as Hermione wrote their names with her finger on his chest.

"I love you. Remember that." whispered Ron as he felt sleep start to claim him.

"I know. I love you too." whispered Hermione back, kissing Ron's chin.

* * *

The next morning, Ron woke up to the sound of his mother screaming at someone downstairs. Hermione wasn't beside him. He jumped out of his bed and threw on a shirt and a pair of jeans, grabbed his wand, and raced down the steps.

Standing in the kitchen of his home was Voldemort and Viktor Krum. Ron growled at the sight.

Viktor looked very much the same as he did at the Yule Ball 4 years ago, only his hair had grown out longer than even Bill's and he had a thick well cut beard. His coal black eyes locked onto Ron's bright cerulean ones, causing Ron to suddenly have a sinking feeling.

"What the bloody hell are you two doing in my mother's house?" growled Ron.

Voldemort beamed. "Ah, Ronald Weasley. Always a pleasure, I'm sure. Pressing matters much more important than this led me to bump up Sir Krum and the Mudblood's union."

Ron pointed his wand straight at Voldemort, causing Hermione and Molly to gasp and Hermione to run over to Ron, begging him to lower his wand.

Voldemort simply laughed. "Still just as brave and as stupid as you were yesterday I see."

"Leave him alone, sir. He's going to already go through enough as it is." said Viktor, calmly, surprising everyone in the room.

Voldemort smirked at the Quidditch star. "You're really showing compassion? Let me remind you that it's your fault for the young boy's unhappiness. Just make sure you take great care of his filthy Mudblood slag."

"IM WARNING YOU, BITCH! STOP DISRESPECTING HER!"

"RON, PLEASE!"

"RONNIE DEAR, PLEASE CALM DOWN, HE WILL KILL YOU!"

"It's fine Mrs. Weasley. I have no intentions of physically harming your precious baby boy." said Voldemort slyly. "Just his heart. I find that to be a lot more enjoyable."

"Just leave him alone and let's get this over with, please!" yelled Hermione as she tried desperately to push Ron's wand arm down.

Voldemort sneered at Hermione. "Fine. As you wish, my dear. As I said. I have more important things to deal with than this. You two! Join hands!"

Hermione reluctantly stuck her hand out. Ron grabbed it, pulling her into him.

"Hermione, I can't..." said Ron, voice cracking as his eyes started to water.

Hermione held back her tears as she touched Ron's face tenderly. "I can't either. But I'll be okay, Ron. Everything is going to be okay."

"I'll take care of Herm-own-ninny, Weasley. I can promise you that." said Viktor loudly and boldly as he waited for Ron and Hermione's moment to be over. Ron looked over at the man, the unsettling feeling growing bigger in the pit of his stomach.

Hermione once again held out her hand. Viktor grabbed a hold to it, and Voldemort performed the spell that he did on Ginny and Draco. Viktor's ring finger had a gold band, while Hermione's appeared to be either white gold or silver.

"Wait, why is Mione's band different than Krum's? asked Ron as Hermione looked at her hand.

"Why would I allow the Muggleborn

finer things?" laughed Voldemort. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. In case your blood traitor lover boy hasn't told you yet , you and your strapping young husband must consummate your marriage by 48 hours or you'll be cursed and death will soon follow. Looks like the Mudblood will finally know what it feels like to have a real man, eh Viktor my boy?"

At first, Viktor looked as if he wanted nothing to do with answering the question. Then, out of nowhere, a sneaky grin etched itself upon his face.

"Right as usual, my Lord." said Viktor, pridefully. "Weasley has always know who was the superior out of the two of us."

Hermione, Molly, and Ron looked at Viktor, stunned.

"Viktor? What are you saying?" whispered Hermione, shocked.

"Well, this is my cue to leave." said Voldemort as he held out his hand. "Do me proud, Krum."

Viktor nodded as he bought Voldemort's hand to his lips, kissing it as if he were a god. Voldemort then apparated away, leaving Viktor still in the presence of shocked faces.

"Okay Krum, he's gone now." said Ron, thinking that Viktor was trying to put on an act. "I think we need to talk about this."

Viktor looked at Ron as if he wasn't worthy. "Talk about what,Weasley? My wife and I are about to leave for Bulgaria, and you shall never see her again."

"What?" gasped Hermione. "What are you talking about? What about what you wrote to me? About us trying to work something out with Ron?"

Viktor laughed. "Oh Herm-own-ninny, to be so bright, you are truly dumb. You actually thought that I would allow my wife to continue to see her lover? What kind of fool do you take me for?"

"You bloody Bulgarian bastard..." growled Ron.

"How do you think this all came about? You think that it was by chance that the Dark Lord sought me out?"

"The Dark Lord? You actually are for him?" yelled Hermione.

Viktor held out his left arm and yanked up his sleeve. There on his forearm was the Dark Mark. And it didn't look brand new.

"Oh fuck you, you're a fucking Death Eater?!" yelled Ron. He knew something was up, but he never imagined that.

"I have been a Death Eater along with Igor Karkaroff since after the Triwizard Tournament. It would have been stupid for me not to be one. Everyone knew that the Dark Lord had returned, and was more powerful than ever. We had been plotting this war and takeover for years. You thought that he had no pull in Bulgaria? You forget that Durmstrang is indeed a school that takes pride in the teachings of the dark arts. When your precious Harry Potter was vanquished, us Death Eaters in Bulgaria celebrated right along with England. You would actually be surprised where Voldemort's supporters are."

"But why Hermione, you barmy twat?!"

"Because the Dark Lord asked me to. He knew of your little obsession with her. He knew that her, being alive and with the man you would hate to lose her to, would hurt you more than her simply being dead. You would have to read in the papers of our beautiful love affair. See pictures of her on my arm. See the images of her pregnant with my children. Knowing that I fucked her to get her that way. Makes you mad enough to murder, doesn't it Weasley?" antagonized Viktor.

"Ronnie dear, please..." whispered Molly as she held onto Ron's hand, his grip almost breaking her fingers.

"Don't you Death Eaters believe in pureblood supremacy? Wouldn't having a half-blood child ruin your cause, dumbass?" asked Ron, pointing his wand at Viktor.

Viktor have Ron a sinister smirk. "It is what the Dark Lord wants of me, so who am I to deny him? I take the job of pissing you off very seriously. And I will do my job well. And now Herm-own-ninny, it's time to leave this place."

"I'm not going with you!" yelled Hermione.

Viktor laughed. "I'm afraid my dear that you don't have a choice."he said as he grabbed her arm roughly.

"HERMIONE, NO!" yelled Ron as Viktor apparated away with Hermione.

* * *

Hermione blinked as she looked around at her all of a sudden new surroundings. She had absolutely no clue where she was.

"Wha...what is this?! Where did you take me?! TAKE ME BACK TO THE BURROW!" she yelled.

"I'll be doing no such thing, wife." said Viktor, again grabbing Hermione's arm roughly. "Haven't you figured it out yet? I fucking own you, you Mudblood bitch!"

Hermione snatched out of Viktor's grasp. "Don't you dare disrespect me and call me a bitch!" she yelled.

It happened quick. Hermione suddenly felt intense pain and saw stars as Viktor's fist connected with her face. For the first time since Voldemort's return, Hermione found herself truly afraid for her life.

Hermione turned to run away, but Viktor grabbed Hermione roughly by the hair, throwing her violently back against a wall. Hermione cried out from the impact, her back feeling as if it had been hit by a bludger.

Viktor then pinned her against the wall and kissed her violently. Hermione bit as hard as she could into Viktor's lip, causing him to step back and slap her.

"You fucking bitch! I'll make sure this is a consummation that you'll never forget!" he said as he yanked at Hermione's shirt.

"Viktor, stop! STOP IT VIKTOR PLEASE!" begged Hermione as she fought back as best she could, but she was no match for the muscular man the size of Ron himself.

Viktor picked her up and slammed her onto the floor. He ripped her shirt completely off her body and punched her in her torso, knocking the breath out of her. As she coughed and struggled to breathe, he snatched off her jeans and knickers as well, leaving her naked and venerable.

Hermione screamed and begged for him to leave her alone. Every time she tried to scoot away, he would hit her hard. She could feel her skin bruising, her face swelling.

He unzipped his pants and reached in and grabbed his penis through the hole in his boxers. Hermione kicked her legs and swung her arms, once again pleading for Viktor to stop.

He then picked up his wand and hit her with the cruciatus curse. Hermione's mind flashed back to Malfoy Manor, when Bellatrix tortured her with the curse. Her body felt like it have been thrown into a volcano. Even her hair felt the pain.

"RON! RON HELP ME! RON!" yelled Hermione, even though she knew Ron was nowhere near. She wouldn't hear him scream her name. Not this time.

Viktor forced Hermione's legs open so hard, she could have sworn she felt a break. He then took her. She screamed as the intense pain consumed her from him violently thrusting into her.

"RON! RON!" she screamed over and over until Viktor slapped her again. He thrusted hard into her a couple more times and then hit her once more as he unloaded into her.

He pulled out of her grinning evilly. He walked over to a stand with towels on them and threw one at her.

"Clean yourself up." he said coldly as he walked out of the room, leaving Hermione weeping and whispering Ron's name over and over as she laid in the fetal position on the floor.


	7. Chapter 7: The First Time

I hope I haven't made too many people angry with me.

If you haven't figured it out from that chapter, Hermione's life isn't going to be rainbows and butterflies, so for awhile, any chapters involving her and Viktor Krum won't be nice. Just giving you a heads up. It was very hard to write that chapter actually. I am one of the biggest Romione shippers out here and writing about her being with someone else, especially someone that is going to use and abuse her was tough. Also, this deals with situations that while I haven't physically been through them, I have witnessed the aftermath of before with people very close to me.

Hopefully, this chapter will make up for my cruelness, and makes you smile.

This chapter will be lemon sprinkled.

On with the fic :)

* * *

Chapter 7: The First Time

Ginny woke up feeling weird. She found that her face was no longer resting on a soft pillow, but a smooth, warm chest. Her arm was also draped over said chest, and her leg rested over a leg that wasn't her own.

How in the hell did she and Draco get like that? She was 100% sure nothing happened. And yet, they woke up in such an intimate position, she was starting to question did they have a late night fire whiskey session she didn't remember.

As much as she wanted to move, she found that she was actually very comfortable. She looked up upon the sleeping boy's face. She cracked a small smile over how sweet and innocent he looked, almost as if he hadn't don't anything evil in his entire life.

His eyes popped open and the spell was broken as he looked down at Ginny and realized the position they were in.

He moved away, not too quick, but not too slow. "Damn Ginny, if you wanted to jump my shit, all you needed to do was ask." he said smirking as he stretched.

Ginny scowled at him, but only a little bit. Watch him stretch out his from, toned, and abs ridden torso had caught her attention.

"Sorry. I guess my body is starting to be attracted to lanky gits these days." the quill wrote as she pulled out her notebook from under the pillow.

"Well, you did date fucking Boot and Thomas and both of them looked malnourished." joked Draco.

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. He had actually made a funny, and she had actually been amused by it.

Draco looked at Ginny as she laughed. He started to feel that pull again, and quickly jumped out of bed. He needed to be away from her.

"Right, well get dressed. Breakfast is going to start soon and we eat as a family." said Draco. "Mother left you a dress on my dresser. Put it on."

Draco went to the dresser and tossed the dress over to Ginny. He pulled out a black shirt and a pair of what looked like black muggle jeans out from the drawers. He then went to the loo to shower and change.

Having showered the night before, Ginny slipped off her night clothes and slipped on the dress. It was a pretty midnight blue color that brought out the red in her hair more. The dress was strapless, and flowy at the bottom. It fit as if it was made for her, hugging her in all the right places. She couldn't help but grin. Her mother would drop dead at the sight of her in that dress.

She waited and waited for Draco to come out of the loo so he could show her the way to the dining room. After 15 minutes of waiting, she got bored and summoned a house elf to show her the way.

When she got there she saw the Malfoys sitting at the table. Draco was with them.

"Finally, the Weasley girl has arrived." said Lucius rudely. "I would have thought your mother would have taught you how to be on time."

"Lucius." said Narcissa sharply.

"How in the world did you get here? I thought I was waiting for you." the quill wrote.

"Its called apparition. You should try it sometime." smirked Draco.

Ginny sat down beside him looking embarrassed. Narcissa gave her a forgiving smile.

"Well since the whole family is here -"

"She's no family of mine" grumbled Lucius.

"-We can start breakfast." finished Narcissa with a sigh.

"Forgive me Cissy. I didn't know that Draco had apparated down here." the quill wrote as Ginny glared daggers at Draco, who grinned mischievously as he bit into his sausage.

"That's right. You don't have your apparition license, do you?" asked Narcissa, to which Ginny shook her head no. "Well Draco darling, you will have to help her to obtain it and not take advantage of the fact that you can and she can't right now."

Ginny smiled smugly at Draco as he rolled his eyes and whispered "Yes, Mother."

"She should already know these things. She was at Hogwarts just like Draco, who didn't she learn?" scoffed Lucius.

"With all due respect, I know how to do it, I just didn't get my license because of my age and the fact that your apparent Dark Lord ruined things for me. Tell him thanks for me next time you speak to him." wrote the quill in big, bold, and glowing red letters so she could make sure he seen what she had to say.

Draco choked on his pumpkin juice as he tried not to laugh.

"You will learn to control your wife, Draco." growled Lucius.

"Control me? Never!" wrote the quill.

"Such disrespect to your superiors. If you weren't my son's unfortunate wife, I would teach you your place!" yelled Lucius.

"And where it that? I'm a Malfoy now remember? I'm no longer as you have said before, beneath you." wrote the quill as Ginny sneered at Lucius.

"Are you two really going to sit there and allow this pauper to speak to me like this?!" yelled Lucius looking back and forth from his wife to his son.

Draco simply shrugged. He truly didn't care what Ginny said or did to his father. He had lost respect for the man a long time ago.

Narcissa didn't have much to say either. "It's going to take a while for the two of you to respect each other, dear. You could start the process by not speaking to her in the manner that you are."

Lucius huffed, clearly outnumbered and defeated. He went back to nibbling on his food, glaring at Ginny with hatred the entire time.

"Now Ginevra, when you're ready, we can depart for Diagon Alley and wherever else to look for clothes. We must find a way to see if we can obtain your apparition license. I fear it will be somewhat hard to get it now." said Narcissa, taking a sip of her tea. Ginny nodded, admiring the woman. She even sipped tea with perfection.

"May I be excused?" wrote the quill. "I've suddenly lost my appetite."

"Of course dear. Just meet me in the entryway when you're ready. Draco darling, what will you be doing today?" Narcissa asked her son.

"Probably meeting up with Zabini " said Draco. "I haven't seen him in a while."

Lucius got up and apparated away to Merlin knew where. He didn't want to stick around and continue to witness his family turn their back on him over that blood traitor bitch.

"So, did you and Ginevra...well..." asked Narcissa hesitantly.

"Mother, that's personal!" harped Draco.

"What? I need to know these things. You only have tonight and then-"

"I know that Mother!" whined Draco. "If you must know, we didn't. She wasn't ready, and I wasn't going to push her. Especially since she is still a virgin."

"A virgin you say?" asked Narcissa. "Well, you know what that means right?"

"That she never had sex?" asked Draco, clueless.

Narcissa rolled her eyes at her son. "It means that you can't just be all man about this and take her virginity as if you own it. You must be kind to her, gentle to her. Make her feel desired. Her comfort is the most important, Draco."

Draco made a face. "You mean special? I can't do special. It's just sex."

"It won't be just sex to her, my love. It's her first time. Even though it isn't what she intended, she is giving part of herself to you. And under the circumstances, it's your job to make sure that she feels special. That you make her feel like the beautiful woman that she is. You do think she's beautiful, don't you?" asked Narcissa.

Draco was about to come up with something smart to say, but instead he sighed. He couldn't deny that he did indeed find Ginny to be very beautiful. And it wasn't only in her looks.

"She is, Mother." he said truthfully.

Narcissa smiled. "Just do the right thing. Who knows? Maybe you two will grow to actually care for one another someday."she said kissing Draco in the cheek before she left out the room, leaving Draco to for once think about exactly how to treat a woman.

* * *

Ginny had an extremely fun day with Narcissa, and it wasn't only because of the shopping, even though that had played a huge part.

Narcissa and Ginny went a little bit of everywhere. She went to a small wizarding community in Sicily for shoes and fine pasta, to Paris for dresses and blouses, got a few pairs of jeans and dresses in Madrid, got a fantastic haircut in Hong Kong, and had dinner in a beautiful Greek restaurant She got a couple of souvenirs to send to her family from every place.

She had began to truly admire and almost love Narcissa. She seemed almost as if she was becoming a second mother. She opened up to Ginny, discussing how it was growing up with her sisters, how Hogwarts was when she and her parents were in school, even some embarrassing but cute stories of Draco as a child. Narcissa in turn grew extremely fond of Ginny, as she reminded her of herself when she was that age. Ginny was spirited, interesting, strong in mind, body, as well as soul. She could tell that one day, Ginny would be the one to melt Draco's seemingly icy heart.

When they finally got home, Narcissa embraced the girl and bid her goodnight.

Ginny started to get nervous. This was the last night that they has before they were cursed, the thought had weighed heavily on her mind the whole day.

She had plenty of chances to lose her virginity in school, especially while dating Dean. However, at 10 years old, she had promised herself everything to Harry, her body included. The fact that they never got around to doing that with each other plagued her.

She felt like to have sex with Draco would be like a betrayal to Harry and everything she stood for. However, for the survival of her, him, and more than likely their families, she had to make the sacrifice.

A house elf took her packages while she took the long walk up the marble stairs and down the long hall to Draco's room. She took in a deep breath, opened the door, and gasped at what she saw.

Draco's room was lit with what looked like tiny floating bluebell lights, creating a soft, red glow. There were fresh rose petals scattered on the floor, the red against Draco's black carpeting looked so alluring. The air smelled sweet; a clear summer's night was the only way to describe it. The fireplace in his room was lit, and a soft fire was burning slowly and sensually.

"About time you get here." said Draco from behind her. She turned around and became enchanted with the sight of him in nothing but black sweatpants on. The glow of the red bluebells made Draco look like an angel. A dangerous, sexy angel, but an angel still.

"What's all this." the quill wrote.

"Well, the most honest answer is that I had a talk with my mother before you two left this morning." said Draco. "She said that I should make you feel...special, as this will be your first time."

"So she told you to do all this?" wrote the quill, with Ginny looking slightly disappointed.

"No actually." said Draco. She just told me to make you feel special. I just took that, and came up with all this."

Ginny blushed as she looked around one more time at all the work that Draco had put into the room. There were even petals on his sheets, which were now as black as his carpet.

Ginny bit her lip nervously as Draco approached her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"If your mother wouldn't have said anything, would this had just been one of those meaningless shags that I've heard of you having with other girls?" the will wrote.

"Absolutely not." said Draco truthfully as he placed his hands on Ginny's waist, causing her to freeze up at his touch.

"Are you scared?" he whispered, looking into Ginny's chocolate eyes. Ginny nodded, looking back at Draco's smoky grays, the way the color seemed to swirl hypnotized her.

"I'll be scared too." he whispered seductively as he leaned towards her. Ginny found herself closing her eyes and moving her face forward, and at that moment, their lips met.

A spark similar to when they grasped hands the first time transferred from Ginny's lips to Draco's, causing them both to open their eyes and break the kiss. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Ginny put her arms around Draco's neck and pulled him back to her lips.

The kiss felt like nothing Ginny had ever felt before. Not with Terry (who only got two kisses on the cheek), nor Michael, certainly never Dean, and surprisingly, not Harry either. Never had she felt such passion, pain, and lust in one kiss. She allowed Draco's tongue in, deepening the kiss to the point to where she felt she was going to cry.

Draco picked her up and sat her on the bed as he brought his kisses down to her neck. The feel of his soft lips on her warm neck excited her in a way that she didn't think possible. She let out a moan, causing Draco to smile and hum against her neck, the sensation sending a tingle up her spine.

She latched her legs around Draco's waist as he took his kisses to the exposed skin on her chest. She gasped as he took a nibble at her, the teasing beginning to make her a bit barmy with excitement.

He brought his lips back to hers as they sped their kissing up slightly. Her fingers played with the fringe of hair on the back of Draco's almost unicorn white hair, while he ran his fingers through her long, fiery mane. He tugged gently at the end of it causing her head to go back as he went to her neck once again, this time downright feasting on her as if he was a vampire.

"Draco." she let out in a whisper as she scratched at his scalp. causing Draco to almost lose himself to primal instinct. He was beyond being sweet and sensual. He wanted her. Really wanted her. And the way that Ginny had just scratched down his back, causing it to sting with delight told him that she wanted him just as badly.

Draco gently pushed Ginny down onto the bed, climbing over her. He ran his hand firmly but gently up her leg, loving the way her thigh felt in his palm. The feel of his hand near her forbidden zone caused her body to quiver with anticipation. When his hand grazed over her knickers, she couldn't help but let out a tiny squeak. No man had ever touched down there before.

"Too fast?" asked Draco.

"Honestly, not fast enough." said Ginny in a raspy voice, the sound mixed with the words causing Draco to harden even more.

"Let's get rid of this then." said Draco, taking his wand or of his sweats pocket and vanishing her dress completely off her body, leaving her with nothing on but her knickers.

Draco took a moment to look her up and down. She looked like a goddess laid out on his bed in her almost naked glory. Her hair fanned out on his black sheets along with her creamy skin made her appear to be living art on a canvas.

"Damn, you're beautiful." he whispered as he went back to kissing her, his hands exploring her exposed body as Ginny tugged at the string of his sweats, indicating to him that she wanted them gone. He took his wand and vanished them as well.

Ginny couldn't help but look. She had never seen a penis before. She had heard from the girls in Gryffindor (mainly Lavender Brown) about size, length, and what mattered and from what she heard, it seemed as if Draco surpassed it. Matter of fact, to her, it looked as if it wouldn't fit at all.

Draco smirked as he put together what she was thinking. "It's going to hurt, but it will get in there, I'm sure." he said as he took Ginny's knickers off.

He went back to kissing her as he positioned himself over her. Ginny found herself becoming scared once again for what was about to happen.

"I'll be gentle okay? I hear it hurts for virgins." he said.

"Just kiss me." said Ginny. "Kiss me while you're doing it. It'll distract, I think."

Draco nodded and passionately pressed his lips onto hers, their tongues dancing beautifully as he tried to concentrate on slowly entering her. He felt her entrance and almost lost it then at the warmth. He then pushed gently in, kissing her a bit faster.

Ginny felt as if her insides were ripping as Draco guided himself inside of her. When he tore through her innocence, the pain intensified to the point to where she cried out and shed a couple tears.

"Fuck, Ginny I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you that bad." said Draco in a panic.

"Just...wait..." whined Ginny as she tried to adjust herself under him. "Okay, I think I can handle it."

Draco proceeded to push the rest of himself into her. The more he pushed, the more the pain was replaced by pleasure. Ginny almost laughed at how silly she was acting moments ago. But she stopped herself, thinking it would bruise his already bloated ego.

"Go." she said.

"Go?"

"Now, Draco."

Draco did as he was told and started to move in and out of her. Ginny gasped as wave upon wave of passion took over her. Soon, she felt something animalistic trying to escape and she found herself boring her nails into Draco's shoulder.

The act surprised and excited him and he started to move faster. He delighted in the fact that it was him that was causing her to make the sounds she was making, and it would only be him that would be able to do that from now on.

"Merlin, Draco, you feel so good." said Ginny in a delightfully strained voice as Draco picked up speed and strength. He started to feel himself reach that point, the feeling of her insides was driving him insane.

With one more thrust, Draco unleashed himself at the same time that Ginny did. They both cried out in ecstasy, their bodies involuntarily shaking as they came down from their sexual high.

Draco pulled out of Ginny and laid down beside her. He panted as he looked up at the ceiling, trying to gather coherent thoughts.

His now sensitive body tingled as Ginny affectionately took a rose petal and ran it up his arm. Draco looked at his wife's exhausted looking face.

"Thank you, Draco." she said as she laid the petal lightly on his cheek.

"For what?"

"For making me feel special." she whispered as she drifted off.

Draco sighed as he took a couple of the petals off her chest, careful not to disturb her. He kept repeating in his head not to fall for her. To not allow himself to feel anything more than just somewhat of a friendship.

He couldn't fall for this girl. What if something happened to the mental bastard and he died or got himself killed? He would be free to find the real love of his life and not waste him emotions on someone who wasn't going to do the same as him.

However, as Ginny moved until she was lying on his chest with her arm draped over him, he couldn't help but grin. He had indeed made Ginny's first time really special. He looked at her and and continued to grin. She wore that first time glow well. He wondered if he looked the same.

After all, it was his first time as well. But he wasn't about to tell her that.


	8. Chapter 8: Letters To Hermione

You can skip this and go right to the fic if you want. This is really a note specific to a guest review and I couldn't message said guest.

So apparently some guest who clearly does not like Ron read my story and basically put Ron down about all the negative he had done over the years to Hermione. They basically said that Ron is the abuser and that I need to seek help.

First off, thanks for reading.

Second, this is how I can tell that this person only watched the movies and didn't read the books.

And third, you needed your own note buddy. So this is yours because I can't message you

I will now address the situations in no particular order.

Yeah he and Hermione didn't get along in the beginning and he made her cry and she ended up in the bathroom with a troll. Hermione at the same time made him feel stupid and was very smug about it.

Yeah he didn't talk to her over Scabbers. Hermione didn't talk to him over Crookshanks because she felt the dumb cat was better and she shunned him as well.

Yeah he left them out in that tent but he was not in his right frame of mind, the horcrux had him. And as soon as he got away from it he tried to come back but was attacked by Snatchers and when he did manage to come back to the spot, they were gone and he had no clue how to find them for weeks.

Maybe you forgot that this is the same boy that every time someone else would tease her, he would instantly flip. He cursed Malfoy, he yelled at Snape twice, he yelled at Harry before over him getting snappy with Hermione for no reason, and he was always the one that was wondering what was going on with her.

Really? Copying homework is abusive? So he was sitting there making Hermione do his homework for him? No. She took it upon herself to do that. For the both of them. Harry happily copied her work right along with him. Shoot if I had a smart friend like her and she let me do it, I would copy her ish too.

When Hermione needed help with Buckbeak's case, he was the first to volunteer himself to help her despite their fight.

He was the one that said he would gladly teach his whole family tree to her and claim her as his cousin if they came after her with that Muggleborn Registration Act.

He was the only one that realized she was almost killing herself with work during third year.

The chocolate frog thing was a reach. The man loves the frog and collects the cards so of course he will be silly and say a thing like that. That doesn't mean that he chooses fame over family. If that's the case then his occupation wouldn't be working with his brother in a joke shop. He could have been a great keeper somewhere. Or a celebrated auror.

Ron has NEVER belittled Hermione for being Muggleborn, nor has he acted like wizards were superior to them. You got him confused with canon Draco.

Where do you get that Ron didn't accept Hermione's family? And what does Krum bring foreign have to do with anything?

Yeah he got jealous over Krum at the Yule Ball and they argued. That's his insecurity. Obviously they had a discussion about it cuz in the book it says that they acted as if nothing happened the next day and were good to each other.

Bilius doesn't mean bile. That was a reach.

Now let's talk about Princess Hermione.

She would usually put Harry and everybody else's feelings in front of Ron's right to his face.

She had a nasty habit of making him feel dumb be it intentional or unintentional.

She didn't celebrate any of his accomplishments until the last freaking book.

She never thanked him for burping up slugs for her.

She acted as if Ron making prefect was something he couldn't accomplish.

She wouldn't even attempt to control her cat before we found out what Scabbers really was.

She would pick on him just as much as he would pick on her.

She acted violent and cold towards him when he went and got himself a stupid girlfriend.

She belittled him in front of his face about quidditch just to prove a point and make him jealous of Cormac even though CORMAC IS REALLY AN ABUSIVE DOUCHE.

She hardly ever took account Ron's feelings until he got poisoned. It was always Harry Harry Harry. If she hadn't told him that he should have asked her to the dance in book 4 and if she hadn't given him a kiss for luck in book 5, no one would have really known that she really had feelings for Ron and not Harry.

She scolded that boy like she was his mom. In front of people. That's embarrassing.

And the biggest one of all, THEY BOTH GOT ON EACH OTHER'S NERVES ALL THE TIME!

Yeah Viktor is a genuinely good guy in the books. A very good guy actually. But really, he was 18 trying to get with a 15 year old. That's perv status right there.

He was more of a friend than anything else because of the distance and his job. He wouldn't have been able to be a proper boyfriend to her.

Hermione really wasn't that into him like that. And she proved it many times after that dance. If he can't read between the lines, that's his fault.

Yes Ron had his douchebag moments. Hermione had them too. Neither one treated the other very well as they grew up. But you fail to realize that the books as well as the movies tell the story from what Harry sees and Hermione spent A LOT of time with Ron by herself so we don't know how the two of them were when it was just them. All we know is that they ended up together and married and Cursed Child showed you that they were still very much in love and had a better relationship than Harry and Ginny.

They were not nice to each other but something must have happened for Hermione and Ron to stick together. Neither one of them was under a spell.

If you don't like Romione and Ron so much, why would you read a Romione story? You knew what this was and yet you read all the chapters of the story so far Shoot the other Romione story I wrote you complained about him on there too and yet you continued to read. Why?

I'm not going to be rude and tell you to seek help like you told me. I will suggest to you to maybe stay away from Romione stories since you hate the guy and ship so much. Let us that love Ron and love him being with Hermione enjoy ourselves.

Okay. I'm done.

On with the fic :)

* * *

Chapter 8: Letters To Hermione

 _April 1999_

"Everything looks fine Mrs. Krum." said Healer Arista as she waved her wand over a bruised Hermione once again to double check her work. She had an assistant in there with her.

"Are you 100% sure?" asked Hermione weakly. "I'm sorry to keep insisting like this, but considering the circumstances..."

Arista gave Hermione a sad smile. "No dear, you're fine. As an expecting mother, I would be the same way, especially with circumstances such as yours. You, my dear had a couple broken ribs that I have mended and a lot of bruising. The baby, on the other hand, is completely untouched. Quite the strong witch you're carrying there."

Hermione smiled as she rubbed her growing belly.

"I will warn you Mrs. Krum that you are indeed two months away from your due date. Something can easily go wrong with your...clumsiness." said Arista.

Hermione sighed. "I know."

"Would you please leave the room for a second?" Arista asked her assistant. "I have to give my patient a private consultation."

The assistant nodded and then left the room.

Arista turned back to Hermione, a look of worry and terror appeared on her face.

"Hermione, you have got to get out. Is there really no way you can leave?" she asked frantically as she held Hermione's hand.

Hermione felt the tears building up in her eyes. "We've had this conversation many times before, Ari. I can't do a thing. I don't have a wand anymore, I can't openly contact my family, nor my friends. He will probably get angry at me for coming here again, but I knew something had broken and I just had to see if she was okay."

"I understand, but what's going to happen when you have this child? Will he allow you to keep her?"

"I don't know. He seems as if he is happy sometimes that he is going to be a father." said Hermione slowly.

Arista sucked her teeth. "Don't give me that. He's a fucking Death Eater and his child will be a half blood. He will kill that baby without a second thought and you know it. Especially if he leader tells him to."

"You're right, you're right, of course you are, but I can't give up on my baby. She needs me. I need her. She is the only one besides you and Ginny that I have left in this world."

"What about Ron?" asked Arista.

Hermione looked up at the sound of Ron's beautiful name. "Ron can't know a thing, remember? He would get himself killed trying to come out here and save us. It's best to let him live his life and to not let him worry. That's why I haven't told Ginny about the abuse, nor the baby. And I'm never going to." said Hermione firmly.

"That reminds me." said Arista. "Come with me to my office.

Hermione and Arista walked into the pastel pink and cozy office that Arista owned. She was the lead OBGYN healer as well as Pediatrics, and Hermione's only friend in Bulgaria.

Hermione had discovered her around Christmas when she came in thinking that Viktor's beatings had taken a toll on her internally. She then discovered that she was indeed three months pregnant. Arista recognized the signs of an abused witch, so Hermione started to secretly confide in her and from that point on, would see no one but her.

Arista was nothing but four years older than Hermione herself. She had graduated from the wizarding school Ilvermorny in America, and had joined the healer program soon after graduation. She excelled, being just as smart as Hermione, and became the youngest healer in a century when she was only 22. She was a great friend to Hermione, allowing herself to be the middle witch in Hermione contacting Ginny.

When they had closed the door, a tiny owl started flying circles around Hermione's head. Hermione smiled genuinely as the owl finally perched on her arm.

"Pig, you beautiful bird! You made this journey all by yourself?" she cooed at him as she gently stroked his stomach. "You're such a good bird. Is Ron taking care of you? Is he still feeding you treats?"

Pigwidgeon gently pecked at her finger to show that he missed her too.

"That little bird is like the Energizer Bunny, he is. He must be strong to carry two letters all the way from England." said Arista.

Hermione looked stunned. "I've gotten two?"

Arista smiled as she handed Hermione the envelopes. Hermione tore open the first envelope, revealing a letter from Ginny.

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _It was so good to finally hear from you after two whole bloody months! You had me completely mental. I thought you had disappeared._

 _Everything is fine here at the manor. Cissy and I came pretty close to your town when we came to Bulgaria to pick up her gown from this celebrated dressmaker there, but I didn't know where exactly you lived, so I couldn't spring on a visit. Besides, I didn't want to get you in any trouble._

 _Are you okay? I keep having a feeling that you're not, despite the fact that you're always telling me that you are. You know you'll always be a big sister to me. I'll always be concerned for you._

 _Draco and I are good. Very good actually. I assure you, he isn't the prat that he was in school. I mean yes he is still a prat, but all that pureblood supremacy has gone out the window. He laughs and smiles more now which is completely gorgeous to look at. We don't argue anymore unless it's over something stupid, in which making up is absolutely brilliant. Oh yeah, and he has started to drool in his sleep. I have pictures enclosed as evidence along with other pictures of us and things that I know you miss about England._

 _His father is still a wand up my ass. There are days where it gets so bad that we almost want to just duel it out. I'm starting to believe that Old No Nose is getting angry that his apparent revenge isn't working. Cissy loves me and Draco and I aren't proper lovers, but we care a lot about each other. Some punishment eh?_

 _Ron misses you, Hermione. He misses you so much. I can tell when I do see him (we have to do it in secret, I'm not really supposed to be connecting with family according to the evil tosser) that he isn't himself. He just looks incomplete without you and Harry around._

 _Speaking of Harry, I'm not having the dreams as much as I used to any more about him. Don't get me wrong. I'll always love Harry, and I miss him terribly, but maybe this is Harry's way of telling me to let him go._

 _Anyways, I can't wait to hear from you again. The last two letters I got from you were amazing to read and I'm glad you're doing okay. Guess Voldemort didn't count on Krum being a good person to you like Draco is to me. I miss you so much and I can't wait till the old coot dies so we can see each other again._

 _Love,_

 _Ginny._

Hermione hugged the letter to her heart.

"Good news?" said Arista cheerfully.

Hermione nodded. "Her and Draco are getting along better. She and Draco's mum was even in Bulgaria, but they couldn't come see me. And she got to see Ron, which is good. They have to sneak around to see each other."

Hermione picked up the second envelope. It wasn't addressed to her. Matter of fact, the envelope was blank, causing Hermione to hesitate.

"What's wrong?' asked Arista.

"Blank envelope. Could be cursed."

"With all the wards here, it wouldn't have made it into the building." assured the healer. "Open it."

Hermione nodded and opened up the envelope. When she unfolded the letter, she dropped it, recognizing the handwriting immediately.

"Ron." whispered Hermione.

"What?"

"It's from...its from Ron." she said, eyes once again filling with tears.

"Well? What are you waiting for?! READ IT!" exclaimed Arista excitedly.

Hermione hesitated. "Oh should I? I don't know. What if it-"

"If you don't read it I will, now do it!" said Arista, sounding like an excited cousin.

 _Mione,_

 _I bet I can guess what you did before you started reading this letter. You probably dropped it, picked it up, wondered if you should read it, and then started reading it. Did you? I know you did. I still know you._

 _I know I shouldn't be saying anything to you, but when I found out that you had wrote to Ginny, I couldn't help but be angry at you. But as usual, I got over it. I figured there had to be a reason why you didn't write. Probably had to do with fucking Krum._

 _Hermione, I've been so bloody worried about you ever since the moment you left. Something kept bugging me about Krum, I had a feeling the prick was bad. I was scared that he would try some shit, but Ginny told me how you wrote to her, saying that Krum was okay._

 _Thing is, you can lie to her because she didn't see how Krum was the day you left, so you can't lie to me. I know something isn't right. Hermione, I swear to Merlin, if he has hurt you in any way, I'll kill him. I don't give a fuck about anyone or anything Mione, you better give me or Gin some sort of sign. I will find a way to get to you._

 _Things are pretty much the same here. Bill is still training Dad, Mum is still worrying over everyone, the twins had found a way to work from home under Voldy's...well I can't say nose, and Charlie is still in Romania. I haven't been able to find anything to do. That bloody tosspot has made it hard for me to. So I just help with Mum around the Burrow and sometimes I help Andromeda with Teddy. That's how I see Ginny._

 _Speaking of Gin, it's hard to believe that she and that bloody ferret are actually getting on all right. Draco's mum let's her send Mum money, even though at first, Mum didn't want to take it. She says that Lucius is a right foul git to her. He's probably mad that he's an old fossil that can't get it up anymore, not even to wank. I know you're probably grossed out by the thought. I am too._

 _I miss you so much Hermione. I know that you're married, and we aren't ever supposed to see each other again, but I just can't and won't let go of you. You're my best friend, my first love, and I'm still very much in love with you. One day, things will be different. One day this will all be over and we can finally be together. Remember what I said though. Say the word, I'll be there._

 _Take care of yourself, Mione. You better be eating and you better be resting and not trying to read to the point of exhaustion and do everything under the sun._

 _Yours Forever,_

 _Ron_

 _P.S.: Sorry for sending Pig, but he missed you, and I figured that you missed him too. Besides, he was the only way I could convince Gin to let me send a letter along with hers._

Hermione slumped down in the comfy chair that was in Arista's office. She felt overwhelmed with emotions. Happiness, sadness, hurt, fear, and love.

"He still loves me." she said with a giggle, handing Arista the letter to read. "He told me to say the word and he will be here. He still loves me."

Arista sighed as she read over Ron's words. "Good man you have here, girl. He sincerely adores you. Why haven't you written to him before?"

"I don't want him to worry. Ron can see right through me. Even in a letter, as you can see. If I was to write to him, he would come."

"Would that be necessarily bad?"

"You seen what he said. If he was to come here and do something to Viktor, Voldemort would kill him. I can't deal with that. I've already lost one best friend. I can't lose him any more than I have. I just can't." said Hermione.

"Hermione, you need him. This baby needs him. You two can't survive here. If I could get you away from here I would, but as a half blood, I don't have much jurisdiction. I can't even get back to the states to my own family." said Arista, sadly.

"I have to go. I've been gone too long." whispered Hermione.

"You're not going to write back to them?"

"No. It hurts too much to. I'm just going to have to hope for better, and when this baby gets here, maybe things will change." said Hermione.

"Arista shook her head. "Do you honestly believe that?" she asked as Hermione got up and walked towards the door.

Hermione looked at her friend and sighed. "I have to, don't I?" she asked as she opened the door and left.

Arista sighed. She took the letters and put them in Hermione's file along with the other two letters Ginny had written her.

* * *

Hermione quietly walked back into the Krum mansion. She didn't know if Viktor was around or not. She tiptoed across the entryway, careful not to make a sound.

Once she reached the kitchen, she felt a bit safer. It didn't seem like he was home. She went and got her a glass of water.

All of a sudden, she found herself being launched into the wall, a huge and tight hand was around her neck, holding her up.

"Where the fuck have you been?" growled Viktor.

Hermione gasped for air, but Viktor tightened his grip. She felt herself slipping away.

"I said, where have you been?" said Viktor, this time dropping her to the floor.

Hermione coughed as she tried to gather her thoughts and her breath. "Went to...check on...the baby.." she managed to croak out.

Viktor eyed her as she took deep breaths on the floor. "You're lucky I'm allowing you to keep that thing. Just to keep you out of my face." he said as he kicked her leg and walked away.

Hermione rubbed her belly and felt a kick. Guess that was the baby's way of telling her she was fine.

"Don't worry, little one." whispered Hermione as she started to cry. "Mummy will protect you. You are so loved."


	9. Chapter 9: A Star Is Born

I have no idea if Orovitch is a real word. I needed a name for a Bulgarian St Mungo's, and that's the first thing that popped in my head lol

* * *

Chapter 9: A Star Is Born

 _June 10th, 1999_

Ron sat in the home of Andromeda Tonks holding a sleeping one year old Teddy Lupin on his lap. His hair was a vibrant turquoise with red tips, the red representing Ron.

Ron spent a lot of time at Andromeda's helping her take care of Teddy. He felt that be needed to as Teddy had lost both his parents as well as his godfather, Harry. Andromeda enjoyed the help that Ron provided. She was doing her best by herself raising her grandson, but at times it got overwhelming. Especially since she was still mourning the losses of her only daughter and husband.

Ron enjoyed his time over Andromeda's because occasionally he would have a chance to see Ginny when Narcissa and her would visit. Thankfully, these were one of these occasions

"Malfoy." said Ron grinning.

"Weasley." smirked Ginny.

"Oh bloody hell, you even smirk like him now." said Ron as his sister kissed him on the cheek.

Narcissa smiled at Ron. She had come to like the young man, and vice versa."I'll take Teddy to his grandmum so you two can talk." said Narcissa as she took Teddy from Ron and left him and Ginny in the sitting room.

"So, how's life being a rich bitch?" joked Ron.

Ginny laughed. "You could be a rich bitch too if you would do what Draco suggested and work under the table for him."

"I'd rather fuck a hippogriff."

"Ew. Thanks for that image."

"Speaking of Ferret Boy, how is he treating you?" asked Ron.

"He's great actually." said Ginny. "He's almost like my best friend."

"Best friend? Is he a poof or something? Does he sit and do your nails while you gossip over lovely wizards?" teased Ron.

"Isn't your best mate a girl? Did that make you a poof?" said Ginny, instantly regretting her words.

Ron's face fell at the mention of Hermione.

"Have you heard from her?" Ron asked Ginny.

Ginny sighed. "Ron..."

Well have you?"

"Sorry Ron, not since the letter I got before the last one I sent." said Ginny looking gravely at Ron.

"Something isn't right, Gin. Something has happened to her." said Ron, feeling himself get upset.

"Ron, it's okay." said Ginny, trying to comfort her big brother. "The last letter she said that she was good. You read it yourself."

"And you fucking believed her? She's not fine with that Bulgarian Death Eater cunt!" yelled Ron.

Ginny's eyes grew wide. "You never told me that he was a damn Death Eater, Ronald Weasley! When did you find this out?!"

"Fuck, that's right. You wasn't there." said Ron. He had forgotten that Ginny didn't know everything that went down. Ron couldn't bring himself to talk about it before. "He showed us his Dark Mark. Said he had been one for years. And then he just fucking snatched her away."

"Ron...why didn't you tell me? Cissy and I were in Bulgaria in April! I would have done something!" yelled Ginny.

"Gin, what could you have done but gotten you and Narcissa into some bullshit. The last thing I need is my sister and her mum in law dead in fucking Bulgaria." said Ron.

"Well, maybe she actually is okay, Ron. Maybe since they were already friends, he will-"

"You weren't there Gin! That tosser is evil. He doesn't give a fuck about Hermione. And I swear if he has hurt her in some way, I will fucking murder him and that's exactly what I told her."

"Well shit Ron, that's probably why she hasn't written back anything, you git." said Ginny throwing up her hands. "She probably thought that it didn't matter what you would say, you would still go and put yourself in danger. You know how she is, Ron."

"Shit, you're right. I shouldn't have said that. But I've been so mad since she's been gone, Gin. I don't know what to do and not hearing from her is driving me mental."

"I don't like it either, Ron. But I think if it got really serious, she would say something. Hermione can't possibly hide everything, can she?" asked Ginny.

"You'd be surprised." mumbled Ron, thinking back to third year.

* * *

"Okay, Hermione you're almost there, just another couple of pushes." encouraged Arista as a fatigued and very much in pain Hermione tried hard to give birth in the maternity ward at Orovitch.

"It hurts, oh Merlin, it hurts! yelled Hermione through a mix of sweat and tears.

"I know hun, I know, but it'll be over soon, just give me another strong push, just one more!' said Arista over and over while her assistant wiped off Hermione's forehead with a cool rag.

Hermione had went into labor earlier that day, after a fight with Viktor. He left her in there alone. Hermione had to walk in pain to the hospital where she collapsed in Arista's arms.

"Okay Hermione, there's the head! Please! One more good push!"

"I can't...the PAIN! RON! RON, HELP ME!' she screamed as she pushed down hard.

Her world went blurry. She heard the tiny cry of a baby before she passed out.

*START DREAM*

" _Hermione? Hermione? Wake up Sleeping Beauty." said a familiar male voice._

 _Hermione opened her eyes to a field of daisies, her favorite flower. "Who is...Harry?!" she said as she was face to face to her messy raven haired, emerald eyed, best mate._

 _"You have to wake up, sis. Wake up Hermione." said Harry._

 _"Am I dead?" asked Hermione._

 _Harry laughed. "No. Not even close. You're just dreaming."_

 _Hermione nodded. She was suddenly overcome with anger. "Harry, why? Why are we talking right now? Why did you have to die and leave Ron and I alone?"_

 _Harry looked at Hermione, sadness written all over his face. "I didn't leave you two alone. And I'm much closer than you think, Hermione. But you have to wake up. You have to be strong. For your new daughter. And for our best mate."_

 _"Ron?"_

 _"Wake up Hermione...wake up..."_

*END DREAM*

"Hermione? Wake up Her- ahhh there you are dear. You had me worried for a second." said the soothing voice of Arista.

"...Ari? Did I die?" asked Hermione, weakly.

Arista laughed. "You just fainted, dear. You're fine, and you're the new mother to an absolutely beautiful baby girl."

"She's...she's here? Well where is she?" asked Hermione.

Arista reached in the bassinet beside of her and picked up what looked like a bundled up pink blanket. She then handed the bundle to Hermione.

Hermione gasped as she took in the sight of the most precious thing she have ever seen in her entire life. A beautiful little baby with hazel brown eyes and skin the color of freshly made caramel. The baby looked Hermione in the eyes and instantly Hermione fell completely and unconditionally in love.

"Oh...you're so beautiful." whispered Hermione as she took her finger and delicately brushed it against the baby's cheeks.

"Is...is she mine?" asked Hermione.

Arista laughed loudly. "You just pushed her out of your vagina, so she better be." she joked.

"She's perfect. Absolutely perfect." said Hermione as she lightly touched the baby's nose.

"Does the beauty have a name?" asked Arista. "You do have to give her a name."

Hermione's mind drew a blank. The whole pregnancy, she never had the moment to sit and think of a name.

Suddenly, Shakespeare popped into her head for no real reason.

"Tatiana." said Hermione.

"Tatiana?"

"She was the fairy queen in the muggle play A Midsummer's Night Dream. Yes...Tatiana Rose."

Arista got a quill and wrote down the name. "Tatiana Rose Krum it is then."

Hermione's smile instantly fell. "No." she said firmly.

"No?"

"No. I can't give this child his last name. She cannot grow up with a Death Eater's last name, Arista!" said Hermione.

"Well, what are we going to do? I would suggest using your maiden name, but I don't know if that can-"

"Oh my God..." gasped Hermione, interrupting Arista.

"What is it?" she asked nervously.

Hermione had taken off Tatiana's baby hat that was on her head. Under the hat, was a head full of curly, bushy auburn hair.

"She's a Weasley...oh my God, she's a Weasley..." whispered Hermione.

Arista looked stunned at Hermione. "What? How do you know?!"

"Her hair. Look at her hair! Viktor had black hair, while Ron's hair is red. She's a Weasley, Arista." said Hermione as the tears fell down her cheeks.

* * *

Arista didn't know what to say. She felt herself starting to panic. Over these months, Hermione had become something like a baby sister to her, and she knew that if Viktor found out that this child wasn't his, something bad would happen. Really bad.

"Krum..." she whispered.

Hermione's eyes bulged.

"Arista, what the hell am I going to do? What do I do? Do I shave her head? Is she too young for dye? What do I do?!" panicked Hermione as she held Tatiana close to her.

"Well we certainly can't tell him, Hermione. Do you think he will visit while you're here for the next three days?"

"I don't...I don't know Ari, I don't...oh my god, I don't know what to do!" said Hermione, almost in hysterics.

"Okay first thing, calm down. Breathe in and out slowly and compose yourself. You have an infant in your hands, a rather hungry one at that, so the first thing you're going to do is whip out a boob and pop it in her mouth." said Arista calmly.

Hermione did what she was told and after a few tries, Tatiana was happily latched and feeding.

"Okay. Now, you may not like what I'm about to say, but I'm going to say it. You have to tell her father." said Arista.

"Tell Ron? I can't do that! What would he think? All of a sudden I have a baby thats his and is going to be raised by a Death Eater?! He would die, Arista, completely die!"

"Maybe he can help. Maybe he can find a way to get the both of you out of here." said Arista.

"He can't. Voldemort is too strong and he has men everywhere. And Viktor will know.. They will hunt us down." said Hermione.

"Okay...well, maybe I can perform a glamor charm on her hair. Yes. That will work. It won't affect her scalp at all, just her strands."

"You think that would work?"

"I may have to manipulate some things to where you would have to come in every month to do it over, but I think it will work. That's the only solution I have, dear." said Arista.

She took her wand and waved it over Tatiana's head. She said a quiet incantation, and the baby's hair went from auburn to a dark brown that was a perfect tint for Hermione and Viktor. Hermione sighed, relieved that it had worked.

"What color are Ron's eyes?" asked Arista.

"Blue." said Hermione, bringing Ron's vibrant orbs to the front of her mind. "A dazzling blue. They're gorgeous."

"They sound like it. Hopefully Tatiana's eyes will stay either this color or darken to the color of your eyes and not change to his blue, otherwise you're in trouble. I refuse to manipulate her eyes. Anything could happen."

Hermione nodded.

"I still need a name, Hermione." said Arista.

"She's a Weasley. So it'll be Weasley. Is there a way that I can doctor a certificate that would have his last name, but you keep her true one?" asked Hermione.

Arista smiled. "Of course I can. Tatiana Rose Weasley. Has a very nice ring to it."

Hermione looked down at the now sleeping brown haired baby.

"Yes." she whispered as she kissed Tatiana's forehead. "Yes it does."


	10. Chapter 10: The Anniversary

Chapter 10: The Anniversary

 _September 1st, 1999_

Draco looked at his wife as she slept, thinking of the best way to wake her up on the morning of their anniversary. Should he be sweet and cheesy and bring her breakfast in bed with a rose? Should he be freaky and wake her up to some hot morning anniversary sex?

Or should he be even more freaky and wake her up like she did on his birthday a few months back.

He chose the third option.

He moved the covers off of her and carefully pulled down Ginny's pajama shorts. He rose up to see if she had woken up. No response.

Perfect.

He then gently spread her legs open to where he could gain access to her treasure. He took a breath and dived in, tongue first.

About 15 seconds later, Ginny started to stir. Her legs started quivering and she was making little moaning sounds in her sleep, encouraging him even more. So he nibbled at her spot.

Ginny's eyes shot wide open as she woke up with a start. It didn't take her nothing but a couple seconds to register what was going on. She arched her back as Draco took a hold of her thighs and feasted upon her as if she was expensive cuisine.

"Shit Draco!" she cried out as she grabbed his hair, pulling on it as Draco made love to her with his tongue.

She felt her body lose control, the sweet juices flowed from her and Draco lapped up every single drop. She sighed as she held on to his hair, pulling his head out from in between her legs.

"Happy Anniversary." said Draco giving her a seductive smirk.

"Happy Anniversary indeed." laughed Ginny and she came down off her lust filled high. "Feel free to wake me up like that every single morning."

"Hell no. You're not that special." joked Draco.

Gibby kicked him lightly on his chest. "Oh shut up. I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you and you know it."

"Never. The best thing that ever happened to me was getting my Nimbus 2001 in second year."

"Oh, you mean when your father paid for your seeker position?"

"Fuck you."

"Don't threaten me with a good time." said Ginny, winking.

"You're impossible woman. Why do I put up with you?" said Draco as he snuggled up beside Ginny.

"Because I'm your best friend and technically because of an old decrepit evil half blood that made you put up with me." said Ginny, kissing Draco on the lips. "Mmmm. Tasty"

"Fuck Ginny don't do that." whined Draco. "I wasn't planning on fucking you until tonight."

"Who said anything about you fucking me?"

"You're my wife. Its your duty to allow me to shag your brains out." said Draco, wrapping his arms around her.

"Merlin, you're such a man." said Ginny, rolling her eyes.

They went through their playful banter for a little while longer, each trying to one up the other. Ginny and Draco had what Narcissa called a very unusual marriage. The two of them acted more like best friends/shag buddies rather than actual husband and wife. It was something that bothered her at first, but she had come to terms with it.

Truth of the matter is that both of them actually loved each other to no end. However, neither party was willing to let the other one know. And in a way, neither party had wanted it to happen.

They had fallen in love at different points in their relationship. If Ginny was to be honest with herself, it was the night he had taken her virginity. She knew then that from that moment on, she was willingly his.

Draco's love on the other hand, came much later. He had Hermione to thank for that one actually.

It was a warm spring day where Ginny was returning a letter that Hermione had sent. It was actually a weird moment for him to fall for her in a way. She was completely angry with him.

*FLASHBACK*

Ginny was sitting out on their balcony trying to cool off from her argument with Draco. She and Lucius had gotten into it so bad that he had actually thrown a hex at her. Draco had stepped in and hexed him for harming his wife. However, he was even more mad at Ginny for "putting herself in that position by always being a bitch". His face was still stinging from the slap that she gave him 20 minutes ago.

She had just received a letter from Hermione. Maybe reading it would calm her down before she could face him again, the slimy prat.

 _Dearest Ginny,_

 _It warmed my heart to hear from you. I'm glad that you decided to trust in my friend to let her receive your letters. I would have them sent directly to me, but I didn't want anything to happen to them. Apparently my home is to always remain secret._

 _To answer your questions, I am indeed fine. I don't get to do anything magically, but it's okay, seeing as before I found out I was a witch, I was living the muggle way._

 _As for Viktor, he is fine too. He usually isn't around much because he still plays Quidditch professionally. When he is home, he is kind. He sends his regards._

 _So you're actually enjoying being a Malfoy? I find that so farfetched, but if you are for certain, I believe you. I just don't see Draco being a good person. But maybe that's just me being biased._

 _How's the rest of the family? Are you allowed to speak to them? I would imagine communication being hard with all those decrees against you guys. If you do speak to them, let them know that they are always in my thoughts._

 _And please, let Ron...just let him know that I miss him._

 _Looking forward to hearing from you soon._

 _Love._

 _Hermione_

Ginny beamed at the letter. Hearing from Hermione had made her heart smile. She grabbed her notebook and allowed the shadow quill to write down her thoughts to Hermione.

Draco came out on the balcony and leaned over the railing. Ginny watched him out the corner of her eye.

He leaned and looked out at the gardens for a few minutes, pretending that he was distracted by them.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he finally said.

"Doth mine ears deceive me? Did I just hear Draco Malfoy apologizing? Has Hell frozen over?" smirked Ginny.

"I'm trying to be serious. I'm not good with this shit. You should know that by now." said Draco, glaring at her.

Ginny nodded so he would continue.

"Anyways, as I said, I'm sorry for calling you a bitch. That should have never came out my mouth. My father was in the wrong so that was no reason to call you that."

Ginny smiled softly. "Thank you Draco. I really appreciate that"

"You're welcome. Writing Granger? Or should I say Krum?" he asked, pointing the moving quill and notebook.

"Yeah. She seems to be doing fine. She misses Ron." said Ginny.

"That tall lanky git. She can't see him from Bulgaria?"

"You're tall too so shove off." laughed Ginny.

"I'm not that tall."

"She still thinks you're a prat." said Ginny.

Draco rolled his eyes. "And I suppose you are confirming her thoughts?" he asked genuinely.

"No actually." said Ginny. "I had told her that you were a good person and gorgeous to look at now that you laugh and smile. If you must know, last letter I told her I was happy with you."

That threw Draco off. "Really? You said you were happy with me?"

"Yeah."

"And that's the truth?"

Ginny looked at him as if he was being silly. "Of course." she said, smiling.

Draco grinned. She was actually happy with him. He never thought that those words would actually come from her lips. He knew that their marriage was a punishment and they were more like friends than they were lovers. And yet here she was, saying that she was happy to be with him.

And that was the moment that he knew that he loved her and that he too was happy.

*END FLASHBACK*

"So, what do you want to do today to celebrate the day we were forcibly united?" asked Ginny as she annoyingly poked Draco's nose.

"God you're a nuisance woman." said Draco as he grabbed her finger and kissed it. "I guess we can do whatever it is you want."

"I do need to see if Ron is at Andromeda's. I need to talk to him. Then maybe we could catch a dinner or something?"

"I guess." said Draco as he got out of bed.

They both got ready and went to eat breakfast. Narcissa greeted them with hugs and compliments, while Lucius scowled and shot a dirty look at Ginny, which she returned.

"Are we really going to begin the day like this?" whispered Draco in Ginny's ear.

"He fucking started it." she whispered back.

The two sat down with the matriarchs and began breakfast. Narcissa talked about what she planned to do for her day and gushed over the kids, Lucius grumbled about how it was a waste of time, and Ginny and Draco pretended to pay attention when really one was thinking about playing Quidditch and the other was thinking about if he really looked good in his new blue shirt or was Ginny lying to him.

* * *

When breakfast was done, the pair set off with Narcissa to Andromeda's home. That was the only way that Ginny could see Ron, who spent a lot of time there with Teddy.

Ron, of course, was there, along with gifts for Ginny and Draco from Molly. She had made Ginny a plate of Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles (her favorite) and Draco a plate of milk chocolate fudge, along with treacle tarts (Draco's favorite).

"Well, you did have treacle tarts." said Ron as he handed Draco the plate. "But I got hungry and ate them. You understand of course." smirked Ron.

"I understand perfectly how you're a fat ass who can't keep his hands off other people's shit." said Draco as he took the plate and quickly coughed over the fudge.

"Exactly." said Ron proudly.

Draco and Ron had managed a tolerable relationship. Ron still thought that Draco was an arrogant, snooty, egotistical ferret, and Draco still thought Ron was a jealous, red faced, bottomless pit of a git, but they managed to be civil when around each other. Or at least keep their insults to a comfortable minimum and their hands to themselves.

Molly had actually began to like Draco. She saw the good in him, he did keep Ginny happy, and that was good enough for her. The twins tolerated him a bit more than Ron, Charlie and Bill held no judgment, but Arthur didn't want anything to do with the boy.

"You could have easily ate Gin's cookies." said Draco as he popped a piece of delicious mouth watering fudge into his mouth.

"Hey!"

"And risk my life? Never." said Ron as he took a piece of Draco's fudge and ate it.

"I have bronchitis."

"No, you don't."

"So, how is everyone?" asked Ginny, bored of Ron and Draco's banter.

"Nothing major going on. Although, Dad seems to be always coughing and sick these days. Keeps complaining about his chest bothering him."

Ginny started to worry. "Has he seen anyone?"

Ron shrugged. "You already know because of Decree No. 52 that we aren't allowed to be seen by any healers. We couldn't go back after we went the first time with you, remember?"

Ginny huffed. "This whole thing is so fucking stupid. Why can't he just leave us alone? His little revenge plots are already unravelling. Draco and I get along, and Hermione is good too."

Ron's eyes grew big at the mention of Hermione's name. "You've heard from her? How's she doing, is she okay?" asked Ron frantically.

"Calm down, Ron." said Ginny putting up her hands. "It wasn't anything to sneeze at, it was only a short paragraph saying she was fine. She did however, give me the longitude and latitude of the location of her parents. Asked me if there was any way I could see about them."

"Oh." said Ron, disappointed. "Well, what of the numbers?"

"Cissy said she would look into it for me. She would have to pull a few strings, but she would get back to be as soon as she found something." said Ginny.

Ron nodded, resting his head against his fist.

"She sends her love, Ron." said Ginny, putting her hand on his back.

"Yeah, to the family meaning all of us, I'm sure." said Ron, gloomily.

"Actually no, this little bit is for you." said Ginny grinning.

Ron looked at his sister, flabbergasted. "You little bint, you held this from me!" he said, snatching the ripped piece of parchment from Ginny's hand. He read it quickly, eyes watering as he gazed upon the words.

You're always with me. You are so loved.

* * *

"Why do I have to use the the loo down the hall when this is in my room?" asked Draco as Ginny pushed him out of their bedroom.

"Because this is my room too and I want to be a surprise.' whined Ginny, causing Draco to roll his eyes in amusement.

"Fine, whatever. You'll just look like you always do when you're dressed up." said Draco.

"And what is that?" asked Ginny, feeling like he was about to say something she wouldn't like.

Draco took his hand and placed it gently on her cheek. "Pretty." he said.

Ginny couldn't help but blush. "So he does have a heart." she said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

Draco went to one of the guest bathrooms and showered. As he let the hot water flow like a waterfall over his head and down his back, he thought about what he had planned on talking to Ginny about.

He had listened to her mumble in her sleep many times about Harry. When the anniversary of the day he died came around, she didn't talk to him nor anyone else for the whole day. Who could blame her? All around them they could see and hear the distant celebration of Death Eaters and Dark followers, treating the day Harry died as if it were a holiday.

He often wondered if Ginny was holding back because she was still in love with Harry. And if that were true, he knew that he would never be able to surpass that. Which is another reason why he hadn't confessed exactly how he felt about her.

He decided that tonight would be the night he would lay it all on the table. True, as a Slytherin, self preservation was one of the highest priorities, but he had been a coward to protect his feelings for way too long. He needed to know.

He got dressed in black and white dress robes of the finest material. His shoes were made of Italian leather. One thing the muggles had gotten right.

He waited for Ginny at the bottom of the steps in the entryway. Narcissa came by and kissed her son for looking so handsome.

Ginny descended down the stairs wearing a simple, yet elegant and form fitting black dress. Her hair had was done up in a sophisticated bun, not a strand out of place. Her lips were sinfully red, and around her neck hung a diamond heart pendant on a white gold chain that Draco had given her for her birthday.

When she got in front of Draco, she couldn't help but smile. Draco looked as if he had never seen her a day in his life.

"You clean up nice." she said, running a hand smoothly over his coat.

"And you look bloody amazing." said Draco, seemingly awestruck as he ran his thumb under her lip.

Ginny looked into Draco's storm clouds, suddenly seeing something she had never seen before. It was mesmerizing as well as confusing.

*Click!* went a camera. Narcissa had taken a picture of the two of them while they weren't looking. "I'm sorry, the moment was too precious." she said as she looked at her blushing son and daughter in law.

They allowed her to take a couple more pictures of them and then they walked out the door arm in arm.

"So where are we going?" asked Ginny as they walked down the pebble sidewalk.

"Just close your eyes and trust me. You'll like it." said Draco as he held Ginny close and apparated away.

Seconds later, their feet had touched the ground. Ginny could tell they were outside. She could hear crickets chirping and the sound of rippling water.

"Open your eyes." said Draco. Ginny opened her eyes and gasped, eyes starting to fill up with tears because the sight was that beautiful.

He had taken her to The Burrow. They were standing on the dock that was over their small lake. There was a table for two with a white silk tablecloth draped over it. There were about five jars with tiny white bluebell fires in them. The sky was filled with stars, the moon was full. Everything looked perfect.

"Drayke...how?" she asked breathlessly.

"Took a lot of convincing." said Draco. "Your mum was completely worried about every little detail, thinking that we would get caught. You weren't meant to ever come back. But, I knew that you missed your home, and I thought that seeing your face like this would be worth it."

"Is Mum and Dad home? Can I go in?" asked Ginny excitedly. She hadn't seen her parents nor her other brothers since this day last year.

"They said they would be here at this time. Go on, I'll stay out here and get this food straight." said Draco.

Ginny hugged Draco tightly, then she ran off to see her family.

* * *

The reunion was tearful, to say the least. With the exception of Ron, none of them had seen Ginny in a year. She cried over seeing her mother and father, gushed over Victoire, got the mickey taken by the twins, and assured all of her brothers that she was fine and happy.

When it was all done, Ginny came back to the dock along with Molly, who embraced Draco as if he was a long lost son. She thanked him once again for arranging it, and finished making sure their food was okay. She then left them out there to eat and enjoy themselves.

They ate and talked and Ginny told stories about the Burrow and pointed out spots that were special, like their makeshift Quidditch pitch, their swinging tree, and her and Ron's treehouse.

"You didn't have to do this, but I'm so happy that you did, Draco." she said as they finished their dessert.

"It was nothing."

"Nothing? This is my home. I hadn't been here since last year. This is everything to me and you knew it was. So I would say, that it is a big something." said Ginny.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you do all this for me? You know that we are risking getting in trouble. And yet you did this when you didn't have to."

"Can't you just be appreciative? Damn, woman." said Draco chuckling.

"I am, you git. It's just, we could have done any old thing." continued Ginny. "Ate out at some fancy restaurant. Went to see a show. Hell, we could have just stayed in and ignored the day. But you took a huge risk for me. For us. Why, when you didn't have to?"

Draco sighed. "Because you're my wife, and it's our anniversary. Aren't these things supposed to be special?"

"Yes. But I didn't think that...never mind."

"You didn't think what?"

"I didn't think you cared about me that much to do something so risky."said Ginny.

Once again, Draco sighed. Guess it was now or never.

"I have a question. And I want you to be completely honest with me, no matter what the answer may be." he said seriously.

Ginny nodded, thrown off by the tone of his voice.

"Are you still in love with Potter?"

Ginny's eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to say something, then quickly closed it.

"Ginny, just be honest with me. About everything." beckoned Draco.

"You want me to be completely honest with you?" said Ginny, almost trembling.

Draco nodded.

"Fine. I won't deny that I still love Harry. After all, he was my first love. I've loved him since I was 10 years old. True, we haven't been thought everything that he, Ron, and Hermione been through, but he was still and always will be special to me. I'll always love him. Losing him took a giant piece of me away." said Ginny.

Draco nodded again, his face feeling hot with disappointment, embarrassment, and hurt.

Ginny got up from her chair, walked over to Draco, and sat on his lap. She put his arms around his neck and looked deep into his eyes.

"I do love him, but I'm not in love with him, Draco. And I haven't been in love with him for quite some time."

"I don't get what you're saying." said Draco, instinctively putting his arms around her waist, so she would slip off.

"I thought that with this marriage, I would be completely miserable. That it would be boring, cold, draining, and downright deplorable. But, I found myself having feelings for you that I didn't think I would ever feel, especially for someone who wasn't Harry Potter. You may be an arrogant prat and can be mean sometimes, but you are also my best friend. Something that I never thought you would ever be. And sometimes, I find myself even happier with you than I ever was with him. And I can honestly say, that even though I love Harry and I miss him and wish that he hadn't died, I've fallen in love with you."

Draco could have been knocked over with a feather. "You're in love with me?" he asked, just having to hear her say it again.

"Yes, I'm in love with you." reassures Ginny. "Have been for quite some time actually. And I understand that I'm a Weasley, and that this marriage was forced and I'm not the girl that you ever wanted to be tied down by, and that-"

"I'm in love with you too." said Draco, hugging Ginny closer to him.

Now it was Ginny's turn to be wonderstruck. "Are...are you serious?" she stuttered.

"Dead serious. I just didn't want to say anything. I didn't want you to reject me or feel obligated to love me. I didn't think you would, because of him."

"Harry would want me happy, and I'm happy with you." said Ginny as she crashed her lips into Draco's.

The kiss was electrifying, now that the two of them knew their feelings for one another. They were consumed by each other, the thought of the fact that both of them had the same love for each other made everything right in the world.

Voldemort may have won the war, but his apparent "revenge" had backfired completely.

"How well can your family see out here?" asked Draco as he broke the kiss, suddenly being overwhelmed with another feeling.

Ginny feeling the same way, grinned mischievously.

"Blow these bluebells out and I promise they won't see a thing. "


	11. Chapter 11: The Safe Place

So the story will be accelerated a bit.

I'll be jumping ahead six years. Why? Because for one, I want to (lol) and for two, I wanted to get to the really really good stuff. Dont worry, I won't leave you in the dark about what had happened during those six years, but I do want to get this party going, as I do not intend on this being a very long fic.

You understand lol.

* * *

Chapter 11: The Safe Place

 _December 12, 2005_

The alarm went off loudly, making a very irritated Ron want to throw the bloody thing out the nearest window. He lifted up his head from under his pillow to peek at the time.

7:05. Time to get up.

He slammed his hand onto the clock, killing its wailing. He then forced himself to climb out of his comfortable/uncomfortable bed. It was comfortable because Ginny had gotten it for his 21st birthday and it was the softest mattress he had ever laid on. It was uncomfortable because of who he was sharing the bed with.

He got up and headed for the shower. He let the cold water rain down onto his body. He closed his eyes as he did what he would do every morning while he took a shower.

Escape.

He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift back to Hogwarts. Back to the days that weren't always filled with danger. Those regular days where he and Harry would slack off while Hermione would nag them about staying on task. He thought back to late night prefect duties with Hermione, how they would talk about how mental Umbridge was and made plans to have a fun and productive summer.

He thought back to the few good days of the Horcrux hunt. That one day where Hermione had killed an actual deer. She was both excited as well as mortified, but she was the first to bite into it when they had finished cooking it. He had taken the mickey for days on her, telling her how she had killed some deer mum and how she needed to find the fawn and raise it as her own.

Then his mind flashed to that last night together in the Burrow. How they kept telling each other how much they loved one another.

He got out the shower and dried off, dressing himself in the loo. He didn't feel like getting ravaged this morning. Especially by a girl who was all over him like the giant squid.

He tiptoed into his room. Good. She was still sleeping. Maybe he could get out without being assaulted.

He made it out the bedroom, careful about closing the door without making a sound. He smiled. He had made it out. He wouldn't even bother to fix breakfast, he would ask Andromeda for a biscuit or something.

He was just about to tie up his shoes when it woke up.

"Won-Won? Where are you? WON-WON!" harped the voice of the woman in his bedroom.

"Fuck." Ron whispered.

Lavender Brown came out of his room, dressed in nothing but her bra and knickers. Any other man would have been turned on immediately.

Ron just found himself even more annoyed.

"Where are you going Won-Won? I thought you didn't have anything to do." whined Lavender as she placed her hands on her hips like a brat.

"I told you last night, I was taking Teddy to school and meeting with my sister. I told you that at least five times." said Ron, already bored with the conversation.

"But why? Isn't he like twelve or something? And you're always with your sister." said Lavender, sounding less mature than Teddy and Victoire combined.

"He's seven. Meaning he isn't old enough to go to school on his own." snapped Ron.

Lavender poked out her lip. "You're right, I'm sorry Won-Won. It's just I love you so much! I enjoy the time we spend together." she said as she latched onto his arm.

 _'Someone Avada Kadavra me now.'_ said Ron to himself.

"Look, we can spend time later tonight. I have a lot that I have to do today, and the quicker you allow me to do it, the quicker we can spend time, okay?"

"Okay Won-Won! Go on then. I LOVE YOU!" said Lavender as Ron walked out the door.

Ron closed the door and apparated as quickly as he could to Andromeda's. As soon as he saw her lawn, he let out a sigh of relief.

He went and knocked on the door and was greeted by a little boy with purple and blue stripes in his hair.

"Uncle Ron! GRANDMUM, UNCLE RON IS HERE!" yelled Teddy as he gave Ron a big hug.

"Hey there mate, ready to go? Cool hair." said Ron as he messed up Teddy's hair.

"You think so? Grandmum says it isn't dignified. Auntie Ginny and Cousin Draco seem to like it." said Teddy.

"Oh no, Ron please tell me you didn't add to the encouragement of his hair." said Andromeda as she came into the entryway and gave Ron a hug.

"What can I say? The kid's got style." said Ron.

"The kid is mental, just like these other children these days." said Andromeda as she helped Teddy put on his coat.

"We do live in a crazy world, Mrs. Tonks. These young witches and wizards need color in their life, don't you think?" said Ron.

Andromeda smiled. "You're right, as usual Ron. Thanks once again for taking Teddy to school."

"No problem at all, Mrs. Tonks. I didn't have much to do today, just meeting my sister at the Burrow to check on Mum."

"How's she doing by the way dear? She hardly ever speaks to me anymore." said Andromeda, sadly.

Ron sighed. "She's still trying to get her life back on track. She just feels so alone I guess. Everyone is off married and having families and she's there by herself. I go visit her from time to time, but I can't replace Dad, you know?"

Andromeda put her hand on Ron's shoulder. "I know. It's been seven years since I lost Dora and Ted. And I'm still broken up about it. I can only imagine how Molly feels at only three months of her husband being gone, on top of Percy. Oh...I'm so sorry dear...I'm just running at the mouth am I?"

Ron shook his head. "It's okay Mrs. Tonks. No harm done.. I'll head out now." said Ron as he took Teddy's hand and apparated away.

They appeared around the corner from Teddy's school. Thankfully Voldemort didn't know a thing about the little boy, as he really didn't pay Andromeda any mind. She didn't want Teddy to go to the horrid wizarding school they had for children in England, so she had him enrolled in a primary wizarding school in France, the same one Victoire attended. Voldemort's reign of terror had never reached France.

* * *

When he dropped Teddy off, he popped over to the Burrow where he was meeting Ginny to visit their Mum.

"Right on time." said Ginny as she struggled to get up from the bench outside of their house.

"Damn Ginny, you're like those muggle things they call blimps." joked Ron as he rushed over to help her up. "Why don't you just go into labor now and get it over with?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and allowed her brother to pull her up from the bench. "Oh fuck off. I wish I could just have this baby now. Unfortunately, I still have a month and a half to go. I swear to Merlin, I did not go through this when I was carrying Orion."

"Speaking of which, where is my monkey of a nephew?"

"He's with his other grandmum while Draco is working. I told them I didn't know how long it would be this time. Last time she all but made us move in, remember?"

"I was thinking of moving back here for awhile. Until Mum feels she can be alone, you know?" said Ron.

Ginny smirked at him. "Is this just a way to be able to move out from your precious Lav-Lav?"

"Did you have to bring that harpy up?"

"You're the one that's shagging her Ron."

"Shagged. Past tense. I snagged her once and that was it."

"Whatever, don't snap at me for your mistakes. She went from a shag to being a live in girlfriend. You should be ashamed of yourself." said Ginny, crossing her arms.

Ron laughed. "Thank you Gin. You have made me see the light and now I'm really moving back home." he said as the two of them walked into the Burrow.

They looked around to see if their mother was downstairs. No such luck. Ginny groaned.

"Look, you stay down here, I'll bring Mum from out of her room." said Ron as he started up the steps.

Ron walked up the two flights of stairs to his parents room. He didn't bother knocking on the door.

He walked in and seen his mother reading a book in her pajamas with hair rollers in her hair. Any other time he would have found the sight to be funny.

"Hey Mum." said Ron. Molly looked over the top of her book and smiled.

"There's my baby boy." she said, getting out of the bed and walking over to Ron, hugging him tightly.

Molly stepped back and looked him up and down. "You look a bit peaky, Ronnie dear. Is that Lavender girl feeding you?"

Ron laughed. Lavender couldn't even boil water.

"I'm fine Mum. Just been working out." he lied.

"You work out any more and there will be nothing left." said Molly. "Let's get you filled up, yes?"

"Ginny's downstairs too, Mum." said Ron, causing Molly to almost squeal in excitement.

"Oh is she? Now she knows she should be in bed! She is getting close to dropping that baby!"

"Don't I know it. You should see her." said Ron.

Molly glared at him. "Never insult a pregnant woman, Ronald. You should have figured this out by now."

Molly hurried down the stairs where she embraced her daughter, scolded her for being on her feet, and made her sit down. Then she started to do what she always did in abundance these days. Cook.

By the time she was finished, she had made enough breakfast for the whole Weasley clan, had all of them been there.

"Mum, this is too much food." said Ginny.

"Oh come now. You have a baby to feed, your brother eats like he is forever empty, and you never know, your other brothers may pop in for a spell." said Molly smiling as she sipped her tea.

As if on cue, a flash of green appeared in the fire. However, no one came through.

"Something wrong with the network, Mum?" asked Ron, washing his meal down with a healthy gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Must be." said Molly. "It's been doing that since sometime last night actually. Like someone is trying to get through, but they can't. May be those bloody Death Eaters. You know Bill just put up some extra wards the other day."

"Yeah, he told me when Draco and I went to the bank a couple days ago. The Death Eaters have apparently been on the move heavily as of late." said Ginny, between bites.

"Wonder what that's all about." said Ron. "I haven't read anything in the Prophet. Then again, all they publish is rubbish, lies, and Voldy ass kissing."

"Ronald Weasley, language!" scolded Molly.

"Mum, Ron is 25. I think he is old enough to use big boy words now" joked Ginny.

"Bugger off, Gin."

Suddenly there was another tiny flash of green. Ron stood up and walked over to the fireplace.

"I wonder what could be wrong with it." he said, sticking his head inside.

All of a sudden, there was a huge flash of green, a cloud of dust, and a hard thump. Molly and Ginny jumped up and rushed over to the fireplace. What they saw made them gasp.

There on the floor was Ron. On top of Ron was a child.m, a little girl, who looked to be at least five or six. She looked positively terrified, holding the arm of what looked to be a bunny rabbit.

* * *

"Mummy? Mummy? Where's my mum? Who are you?" asked the little girl in a panic.

"Bloody hell." said Ron as he struggled to get up. The girl had finally realized she was sitting on a man and darted over to a dark corner of the sitting room, sitting down, holding her legs and trying to make herself as small as she possibly could.

Ginny looked at the girl and then back at Ron. "What in the-"

"Mum, who is that?" asked Ron as he got up and dusted himself off. Molly looked at her son, baffled. She was just as clueless as he was.

The girl started to cry into her knees. "Mummy? Did she get here? Where is she? I want my Mummy!"

Molly approached the girl extremely slowly. "There, there, it's okay. You musn't be afraid. No one is going to hurt you here." she said, holding her hand out to the girl.

"You're...you're not?" asked the girl nervously, eyes big as saucers.

"Oh you poor dear." said Molly as she inched her way closer to the girl. "Why are you so afraid?"

The little girl whimpered. "The bad men in black are chasing us. Mummy wanted us to go to the safe place. Is this the safe place?"

Ron and Ginny looked at each other and then slowly approached the little girl. "Yes, this place is safe. The safest place you can ever be." cooed Ginny. "Can you come out? We can go and find your Mummy, yeah?"

The girl hesitated for a few more seconds. Then she crawled slowly from the corner and stood up, holding her bunny close, her body trembling with fear.

As she came into the light, the trio started to get a good look at her. Ron found himself studying her as if she were an O.W.L's exam. She seemed much smaller than Victoire, despite them looking not too far apart in age. Her skin was like warm honey, her hair was a curly mass of a deep reddish brown. And her eyes...

She looked up and straight at Ron, who felt as if he had seen those pair of brown eyes at least once in his life.

"My Mummy gave me a letter, in case I made it to the safe place and she didn't. Is she here?" asked the girl, still looking directly at Ron.

"No..." Ron whispered slowly, feeling himself drawn to the girl. "She isn't. You came here by yourself, little love."

The girl looked down and started to cry. "The bad men got my Mummy. I don't know what to do!" she cried into her hands.

Molly and Ginny had moved to comfort the girl, but Ron stuck up his hand, stopping them.

"Let me." he said. The two women nodded.

Ron walked over to the girl, kneeled down in front of her and gently put his arms around her. The little girl seemed to instantly melt into his arms, her sobs getting louder and louder.

Ron rubbed her back and spoke calmly to her. "Shhh little love. It's going to be okay. We will find your Mummy and get her here with you okay? You have to be a big girl for her now. Do you trust me?"

The little girl nodded. She backed up a bit and wiped her tears from her face. She then reached in her pocket and handed Ron the letter. Ron handed it to Molly as he continued to comfort the girl, conjuring up a warm wash cloth and wiping her face with it.

"Let's get all that ruddy soot off, yeah? Ahh, now there's a pretty girl." smiled Ron. The little girl managed a small smile back, despite her fear. Molly couldn't help but smile at the sight of her son being so gentle to the child. She unfolded the letter and began to read.

"Shall I clean your bunny's face?" Ron found himself asking her. The girl shook her head but smiled even more, grateful that he had acknowledged her stuffed companion.

"Now little love, can you tell me what your name is?" asked Ron.

"I'm-"

"Tatiana." whispered Molly.

Both the girl and Ron looked at Molly. Her face was awestruck, as if she has just received the shock of a lifetime.

"Yes, my name is Tatiana. How do you know my name?"

"Ron, I think you should read this." said Molly, handing Rob back the letter, her hand shaking.

"What is it?" asked Ginny. "What's going on?"

Ron took the letter and read it to himself.

 _Roonil Wazlib (I hope you remember this, just in case this message gets intercepted),_

 _In case this letter and its messenger gets to you without me, please please please take care of her. I told her that with you is a safe place._

 _She is all I had left of you. And she is all you'll have left of me more than likely._

 _Her name is Tatiana Rose. And she's your daughter. Please take care of our baby, and tell her that Mummy loves her and keep telling her that she is so loved._

 _Also, try to get in contact with ARJ. Tell Tatiana those letters and she will instantly know who you are talking about._

 _I love you both,_

 _The Insufferable Know It All_

Ron looked positively mortified. "Bloody hell..." he whispered as he stared even harder at the child. So that's where he knew those eyes from.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?!" yelled Ginny.

"What's your last name, little love? asked Ron, on the verge of tears.

Tatiana looked at Ron with a serious face. A face, that seemed as if it was a miniature blast from the past.

"Mummy makes me say Krum when we are around people. But she told me that my real last name is Weasley." said Tatiana.

Ginny plopped down on the nearest chair. "Weasley? You mean her mother is-"

"Mummy's name is Hermione, of course." said Tatiana as she hugged her bunny close to her, looking at Ginny as if she should have known.


	12. Chapter 12: The Secret Keeper

Hope you guys had a great Stuff Your Face Day as well as Kill Yourself Over Junk You Don't Need Because It's Cheap But You Keep Forgetting About Good Old Safe Cyber Monday Friday.

Imma weirdo. It is what it is lol.

Wanted to give a shout out to two of my favorite writers as well as supporters, ScarletProphecy14 and thatwitch64. Both great Romione writers, so for all the Romione shippers out there, go check out their work, as well as AzaleaBlue who is a tremendous Romione writer also. Check out her stories!

Let's get to it :)

* * *

Chapter 12: The Secret Keeper

"Merlin, I need a stiff drink." whispered Ginny as she fanned herself. Molly, who normally didn't condone drinking, especially from her children, nodded slowly in agreement.

Ron and Tatiana seemed to be locked in some sort of impromptu staring contest. He couldn't help but to take in every single feature of the girl to find himself. The hair was a dead giveaway, every Weasley, even Victoire, with her heavy strawberry blonde hair has some variation of the Weasley hair. Tatiana's hair actually reminded him of Percy's. He could also tell by her eye shape, face shape, and ears. He owned both of those, while the eye color, nose and mouth was all Hermione.

"Bloody hell." whispered Ron as he continued to stare.

Tatiana scrunched up her nose. "Mummy says it isn't polite to use naughty words." she said to him, making Ron want to laugh and cry at the same time.

"She's Hermione's daughter alright." said Ginny, amused.

"What do you know of naughty words dear?" asked Molly, finally broken out of her trance.

"Father Krum says a lot of naughty words to Mummy and she gets sad." said Tatiana, looking down at the ground.

Ron started to feel the anger in him take root, but he knew he had to keep his cool in front of the child.

His child. He had a child. A daughter. And he didn't even know it.

Molly was curious as to why Tatiana addressed Viktor in such a manner "Has your-"

"No." interrupted Ron.

"No?"

"She's tired, probably hungry, and scared. She needs to be cleaned and rested before we give her a million questions, don't you think Mum?" asked Ron as he stood up, taking Tatiana's tiny hand into his massive one.

Both Molly and Ginny looked pleasantly stunned. "You're right, dear." she said, looking at Ron proudly.

She then focused her attention onto Tatiana. "Would you like some tea and biscuits, dearie? And then maybe a hot bath and a nap?"

Tatiana looked up at Ron who looked down at her and smiled. She then walked over to Molly and nodded her head.

After Molly filled the little girl with tea, a chicken sandwich, and some small pies, she helped her wash off and then found something of Ginny's and shrunk it down to her size. As soon as Tatiana's head hit Ginny's pillow, she was asleep immediately.

"Is she okay?" asked Ron as his mother came back down to the sitting room.

"Poor baby was exhausted. Went right to sleep." said Molly, sitting down in her chair.

"Okay, that's all well and good." said Ginny, ready to get to the bottom of the issue. "Now, Ronald Weasley, what the bloody hell? The letter says that she is yours? We haven't seen Hermione in seven damn years, how is this possible?"

Ron pushed his hair back from his face while he did the math in his head. "Actually, if Tatiana is six, it makes a lot of sense. Hermione and I did have sex the day before she left."

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! Of all the idiotic things to do knowing that girl was going to leave the very next day!" yelled Molly, remembering that embarrassing day.

"Oh so spending time with the girl I loved before she was ripped out of my life forever is idiotic now? I was 18! Neither one of us were thinking that she would end up pregnant!" voiced Ron.

Molly threw up her arms. "Oh honestly Ron, there are more ways to spend time that to have sex!" said Molly.

"What is pissing me off is that she never fucking said anything the entire time she was writing Ginny. Not even a bloody hint!"

"And what would you have done, Ron?" asked Ginny.

"I would have went after her of course!"

"Exactly! She didn't want you to do something stupid like try to find her. She was thinking about protecting you, Ron. And you can't blame her for that. Obviously she did well with Tatiana because she is here now." said Ginny.

"But something must have happened for her to send her here knowing the risks." said Ron. "She said 'bad men in black'. That sounds like bloody Death Eaters to me."

"More than likely. But I wonder what has happened now? And what of Hermione?" said Molly tearing up.

Ron sighed. "Do I tell her?"

"Tell who what?" asked Ginny.

"Do I tell her that I'm her father?"

Molly and Ginny looked at one another and then back at Ron. " I think you should." said Ginny. "She knows that she is a Weasley. As soon as she finds out that we are also Weasleys, she's gonna wanna know between Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and you who her father is."

"I think she already knows in a way, Ginny dear." said Molly. "And I think you knew too before the letter, Ron."

"Eyes like hers, hair like mine? How could I not know?" said Ron, giving a small chuckle.

"So what do we do? We can't just keep her here and not do anything." said Ginny.

"She stays with me, of course." said Ron.

"Ron, you don't know how to take care of a kid." said Ginny.

"I do too! I practically helped Andromeda raise Teddy and you know it! And I've taken care of Victoire, Dominique, Freddy Jr. and Orion so what the bloody hell do you mean?"

"You give those children back at the end of the day, Ron. And you've known them since birth. You don't know anything about Tatiana, other than she is you and Hermione's daughter." said Ginny.

"So I can't learn from my own kid? So what do you suggest, she stay with you? Hell no. You already have one and about to drop another. Plus I don't want Lucius anywhere near my daughter." yelled Ron.

"I could keep her here, dear." said Molly, calmly. "She could keep me company."

"Why can't I have my own child, Mum? Why can't I have the only thing that I have that is a part of Hermione? She's mine. And you can't tell me that I can't have her." said Ron in a threatening voice .

Ginny and Molly looked at each other. Molly couldn't help but smile a little.

"You'll need a bed." said Ginny. "Clothes, toys, the right food. I can help you there. Knowing any child of Hermione's, she'll probably be content spending days in Draco's library."

"I can pay you back Gin."

"Never. Consider it baby shower and six birthdays worth of presents." said Ginny, hugging her brother. "Whenever she is here, she can have my old room. It's just sitting there after all."

"And you'll need to put her in school in a few weeks. I say that only because she needs time to get used to everyone, as well as time to figure out how to find Hermione." said Molly.

"Shit, Ron. What about Lavender? You know she can't take care of a pigmy puff. How is she gonna help you take care of a kid?" asked Ginny.

Before Ron could answer, they heard the creak of a step. They looked over and seen Tatiana standing there, clutching her bunny with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other.

"I had a bad dream." she said slowly. "The bad men were after me again."

Ron got up immediately and walked over to her, taking her hand. "Come on little love, let's go talk about it and see if we can get rid of them, yeah?"

Tatiana nodded and allowed Ron to pick her up and carry her up the stairs to Ginny's room. There, he sat down on the bed, sitting her down on his lap.

* * *

"Now, what happened?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Mummy and I were hiding in Auntie Ari's house. They found us and they took me away. I was scared." said Tatiana, trembling.

Ron stroked her hair and smiled at the fearful girl. "Well, you're safe now. No bad men will come and get you here. Not while I'm around, do you understand?"

Tatiana nodded and laid her head on Ron's shoulder.

"So, what's your mate's name?" he asked, pointing to the bunny.

"Mozart. But I call him Momo. Mummy made him for me when I was a baby." said Tatiana proudly.

"Did Mummy name him too?" asked Ron.

Tatiana looked surprised. "Hey, how did you know that?"

Ron chuckled. "Lucky guess."

"He hides secrets too. Do you want to see?" asked Tatiana, feeling like she could trust him.

"Sure, love. Let's see then."

Tatiana turned the bunny over, unzipped the back, and pulled out what looked like papers and photographs. Ron was amazed. He didn't think she meant the term literally.

"These secrets are Mummy's and this one is her favorite." said Tatiana, handing him the photographs.

Ron almost cried as he looked at a picture of Hermione, holding a baby. More than likely their daughter. She looked a bit weak, which led him to believe she had just gave birth. She seemed to be rubbing the baby's face and then telling the person who took the picture to back off, as she put up a hand, laughing.

The next picture seemed to be of her, Tatiana, and some black lady that he had no idea who it was.

"Who is this?" asked Ron.

"That's Auntie Ari. She's really nice and she helps Mummy and I when Father Krum is upset." said Tatiana in a sad voice.

Ron wanted badly to know what Krum had done to his girls, but he thought it best not to ask for the time being.

He went to the next picture and couldn't help but laugh. It was a very old picture, taken by Colin Creevy. They were in their fifth year. They were sitting in Gryffindor tower laughing about something, he didn't quite remember what.

"That's Mummy, that's Uncle Harry, and that's you." said Tatiana, smiling. "Mummy says that before me, this was her favorite picture. Wanna know why?"

Ron tried hard not to get emotional. "Why is that, little love?"

"Because she was with her friends. You and Uncle Harry are her best friends, and you went on a lot of adventures. She told me some of them like the one with big chess pieces and the one with the evil teacher who always wore pink."

Ron laughed loudly at that. " She was a nasty lady, she was. What else did your Mummy tell you?"

"I know who you are. Mummy told me. She always tells me." said Tatiana.

"And who am I then?"

"You're Ron Weasley. And you're my daddy. Didn't you know that?" asked Tatiana.

Ron couldn't help but let a tear go. "I do now. Your Mum's letter told me. And so did your hair." he said, gently pulling on a curl.

Tatiana handed Ron a folded piece of paper. He opened it and seen that it was Tatiana's birth certificate.

 _Name: Tatiana Rose Weasley_

 _Born: June 10, 1999_

 _Place: Sofia, Bulgaria_

 _Mother: Hermione Jean Granger_

 _Father: Ronald Bilius Weasley_

"Wow." whispered Ron. "She didn't even use Krum's name."

"Mummy doesn't like Father Krum." said Tatiana in what Ron guessed she considered a mean voice. "And I don't like him either."

"Neither do I. Let's talk about that another time, yeah?" said Ron, feeling like she didn't really want to go into detail at the moment.

"Okay." said Tatiana, putting the papers and pictures back into Momo and zipping him back up. She put the bunny down on the bed and started playing with Ron's hand.

"Can I call you Daddy?" asked Tatiana, making Ron's heart melt. She had wrapped him completely around her finger tightly with a bow at that moment.

"If that's what you want to call me, that's what you call me." said Ron.

Tatiana smiled the biggest smile she had the few hours she had been there and hugged Ron tightly. Ron wrapped his arms around her and breathed the scent of what he instantly knew was Hermione's shampoo. She must have used it in their daughter's hair.

Ron felt like he had grown up 10 years in that moment. He felt a huge weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He had discovered his daughter, he had to find a way to get to Hermione, and also do what he had been planning for years to be able to finally have a family: Get rid of Voldemort once and for all.

But for the moment, his only concern was the miniature blend of he and Hermione in his arms, and how he was going to make to for six years lost to the both of them.


	13. Chapter 13: Breadcrumbs

Chapter 13: Breadcrumbs

After Tatiana napped some more, Molly had the rest of the family as well as Draco come over to meet the little girl, as well as discuss the situation at hand. She had also reached out to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had been in hiding since the war, as he was high on the Death Eater kill list.

Ron sat with Tatiana on his lap at the kitchen table, as the others sat around him, each looking between the two.

"I can't believe my baby brother knocked up a bird before I did." said Fred, amused.

"Stuff it Fred. You already have a kid." said Ron.

"Angie and I have a BABY. Freddy Jr. is a baby. This lovely here is a full grown child." said Fred laughing.

"This is just a shock to us, Ronnie." said Bill.

"Especially since we heard the act of creation." said George, slapping his knee .

"There's a child present!" snapped Molly.

"As I was saying, this is a shock." said Bill. "You haven't heard from Hermione in years, and then a child who she claims is yours falls out of a fireplace?"

"Claims? She is mine! Hermione would never lie about this!" said Ron, trying hard not to get angry.

"I'll have to agree." said Charlie. "I mean come on, look at her. The hair, the face. She's practically a female Ron, only more lovely."

"I think she looks like her mum actually, but no one can deny that hair." said George.

"She's Ron's alright. Especially with the look that she is giving us right now." said Fred as he pointed to a scowling Tatiana, whose face resembled Ron's at that moment.

"Can we move on from this?" asked Ginny, laying her head on Draco's shoulder. "I need to know what is going to happen with Hermione."

"First we need to know what's been happening with Hermione." said Kingsley looking at Tatiana. "Can you tell us dear?"

Tatiana stiffened up in her father's arms. She looked at Ron as if she needed permission. Ron smiled and nodded.

"We all just want to help Mummy, okay? But we can't help her if you don't tell us what you can remember,

0yeah? So can you answer our questions?" said Ron putting his forehead against Tatiana's.

Tatiana nodded.

"Okay then, little love. Now, what was living in your house like?" asked Ron.

Tatiana held Momo close to her as she talked. "Father Krum yelled a lot. About everything. He yelled at Mummy, and he yelled at me. Mummy had to take me to see Auntie Ari a lot to change my hair. I couldn't have red hair around him because Mummy said he didn't like redheads."

"Who is Auntie Ari? Is she ARJ?" asked Ron.

Tatiana nodded once again. "She's my god mummy. Mummy's healer. She takes care of us, and Mummy when she gets hurt."

"Ron, let Tatiana sit with me." said Ginny as she looked over and seen Ron's hate filled face. "Come over here for a second, darling."

Tatiana slid off of Ron's lap and walked over to Ginny, eyeing Draco extremely closely as she passed. Draco gave the girl a smile. Tatiana didn't return it.

"So, what happens with your mum and Viktor, dear? asked Kingsley.

"I don't see everything. Mummy makes me close my eyes, or go to another room. Mummy is the nicest person in the whole world. But he calls her a really bad name I am never allowed to say, and other names. And he makes Mummy darker in places."

Ron felt as if he was ready to explode. So that bloody prick was hitting her. If he hit Hermione in front of his daughter, he can only imagine what he did to her while she was pregnant.

"There are bad men chasing us now. Every time we go and hide, they find us. So Mummy told me about the safe place. She said that Daddy and other nice people would be there and keep us safe." said Tatiana starting to tear up. "The bad men say that Mummy has something that the evil one wants, but she won't tell me what it is."

"The evil one is old Moldy Voldy I'd gather." said George. The others nodded.

"What's a Voldy?" asked Tatiana.

"You don't need to know. Now what were you saying, little love?" asked Ron, trying his very best not to lose it in front of her.

Tatiana shot another mean glance at Draco. Her eyes kept saying back and forth over to him and random people and things in the room while she spoke.

"We kept trying to floo over to the safe place, but Mummy said it must be broke because the fireplaces kept spitting us back out. We have been doing it for a long time."

Molly gasped and clutched Bill's shoulder. "Oh no. When the fireplace was acting up. Dear, we prevented them from coming here!" Molly sobbed.

"We didn't know." said Bill in a soft but very sorrowful voice. "Had I even had a clue..."

"It's fine." said Ron. "None of us knew."

"We had to leave the house when it was really dark out." continued Tatiana. "Mummy took me to Auntie Ari's and we stayed there for a little while, but the bad men and Father Krum found us. Mummy said that we would try one last time and wanted me to go first. She said she would be right behind me. So she pushed me into the fireplace and threw the floo powder on me and screamed out some word. And then I was here. But she didn't follow."

"Did you and your Mum move around a lot?" asked Fred. "Do you know where?"

"I don't know. I just went where she would go. I remember staying somewhere for a long time that Mummy said was a muggle place. It had a really big and pretty clock. But then after a while we went back to Sofia."

"Muggle London. Shit...sorry love." said Ron. "They were in Muggle London and we had no idea."

Ron put his face in his hands. Tatiana ran over to him and started to rub his back."

"Its okay Daddy, bad things happen sometimes. But good things happen too." said Tatiana in an almost motherly voice, causing the group to look at her strangely.

Mummy cried a lot too. And when I said what she would tell me, she would feel better. I thought it would work on Daddy." said Tatiana.

"You poor dear." said Molly. "You've had to be strong for your Mummy a lot, haven't you?"

Tatiana simply shrugged and continued to rub Ron's back.

"Not much to go on. said Draco. "Maybe we should try to get in touch with this aunt of hers."

Tatiana turned and glared at the sound of Draco's voice. Draco looked back at the girl, bewildered.

"Something about me you don't like, love?" he asked her.

"You look like one of those bad men. The evil unicorn." growled Tatiana.

Ginny gasped and looked at Draco, who seemed stunned.

"I'm sorry? I look like who?"

"The evil unicorn. He's a bad man with long white hair, just like yours." said Tatiana suspiciously.

Everyone turned their focus to Draco, furiously.

"Drayke..." whispered Ginny.

"Malfoy, what the hell!" yelled Ron, standing up so quickly, he knocked his chair over.

"Okay, this is mental! I would never chase after a child with the intent of harming it. And if I knew where Granger was, you would be the first I would tell Weasley and you know it!" snapped Draco.

"You father...its got to be your father, Malfoy." said Bill. It's got to be. What other Death Eater has long white hair?"

"But Father fell out of favor with Voldemort ages ago. Surely… Fuck, Ginny." said Draco, giving Ginny a worried look.

"The week long trips he's been taking lately. He would never tell us nor Cissy know exactly where he was going, only that they were business trips. "Oh Merlin! He's been hunting down Hermione, Draco!" said Ginny, panicking.

"Ginny, don't panic, you'll upset the baby!" said Molly.

"The baby...Orion! Draco!"

"I'm on it!" said Draco, and with a wave of his wand, he disappeared.

"Gin, what are you talking about?" asked Bill as he helped Molly fan his sister.

"Lucius was leaving what started every other week, to every other day, saying it was business with his company in Italy. Of course we all went along with it, he does have businesses there, along with other parts of the world, but I would have never imagined it being this! It has to be him. Tatiana wouldn't say Draco looked like him if it actually was him would she?"

"I agree." said Kingsley. "It must be Lucius. Probably trying to get back on Voldemort's good side for some reason. The question is why would they be chasing after these two? What does he want?"

A moment later, Draco popped back into the kitchen, a strawberry blonde, brown eyed toddler in his arms.

"Mother had just came in." said Draco, as he handed Orion to Ginny, who hugged him as close to her as her pregnant belly allowed. "I didn't tell her anything, just that Orion would be staying the night over here with the other kids."

"That's totally fine, dear." said Molly. "I'll set up Ginny's room and Tatiana will be going with Ron."

"We are going to have to talk to your father immediately, Draco." said Kingsley. "Either the easy way, or the hard way."

Draco nodded. "Mother told me that Father had contacted her and said he will be there in the morning. We have dungeons, and we have Veritaserum. You're more than welcome to it."

"Hopefully it'll be that easy." said Charlie. "He could very well go back and tell Voldemort that we have Hermione's daughter. He could try to use her as leverage. Or worse."

Ron immediate grabbed Tatiana's hand. "No one is touching my daughter. And that's all I'll say on the matter." he said, voice almost as cold as ice.

"Let's just rest our heads for now." said Molly. "Its getting late, we are all overwhelmed, and this little one needs proper rest."

"Me little one Grammy?" piped Orion from across the table.

Molly laughed. "No dear, I meant your cousin Tatiana. But you can sleep too."

Orion looked over at the new red headed bushy haired girl. To him, it was just another person with hair like his mother so that meant she was good.

"Hi." he said waving wildly at Tatiana, who smiled and waved back."

While sleeping arrangements were made for everyone, Ron reluctantly made the decision to pop back over to his flat, taking his daughter with him. If his bed was bigger in his old room, he would have stayed there, but he and Tatiana needed more space that a twin size could offer.

"You want to see Daddy's home?" he asked her.

"Is it safe? The bad men won't get me there, will they?"asked Tatiana timidly.

Ron scooped his daughter up in his arms. "Little Love, as long as you're with me, your uncles and aunt, and your grandmum, you'll always be safe. I promise, we won't let anything happen to you. Especially me."

Tatiana nodded and held tight to her father.

"I will warn you though." said Ron. "There is a wild beast at my house. But don't worry. She won't harm you."

"Is she a mean beast?"

"She's more of an annoying beast really. Just don't call her a beast though, okay?"

Tatiana giggled and nodded and with a wave of Ron's wand, they were gone.

* * *

 _Sofia, Bulgaria. Krum Estate._

Hermione woke up in pain, cheek lying against a hard, cold floor that she was very familiar with. She moved frantically until she realized that she was chained to the floor.

Again.

"VIKTOR? VIKTOR I KNOW YOU HEAR ME! ANSWER ME NOW!" she screamed knowing that he was only a couple of rooms away and that the walls weren't soundproof.

She looked around and saw no sign of Arista, nor Tatiana. She only hoped and prayed that her daughter had gotten away.

A few minutes later, the door to her cell/room opened. Viktor Krum walked in with two other Death Eaters. Dolohov and Lucius Malfoy. Both looking pretty smug.

"Ah Herm-own-ninny, I see you're up and well rested." mocked Krum. "Now maybe you're in the mood to answer questions for us."

"I don't have to tell you anything, you heartless bastard. Now, where is my daughter?" snapped Hermione.

"She's dead. We killed her." said Dolohov, smirking.

"You're lying! Your pathetic Dark Lord would have your heads if anything happened to her and you know it." said Hermione, trying to hide her elation. Tatiana had gotten away. She had made it.

"Well then my dear, since you know so much, who don't you tell us where she is?" said Lucius with a sneer.

"Wherever she is, she's far away from you, that's for sure!" said Hermione.

"She's probably with that healer bitch." said Viktor. "Or with bloody-"

"Where is she, Mudblood?!" yelled Dolohov, seemingly in a panic.

Hermione grinned. "She is somewhere that you will never get to, you vile scum! No matter how hard you try!"

"We can get to the healer bitch tomorrow. We will make sure she tells us everything." said Viktor calmly.

"You won't find her either, you idiot. Can't you see? You've lost! Even if you do try to kill me, it won't make any difference. You have lost! And when your leader finds out, it'll be your heads!"

Viktor stepped forward and backhanded Hermione hard in the face. She looked at him as if she was unaffected and spit out blood from her mouth onto his shoe.

"Filthy Mudblood bitch." said Viktor, shaking the blood off of his shoe and walking out the door. Lucius and Dolohov eyed Hermione, who looked ready to spit on them as well. They quickly exited the room.

Hermione sighed and sat down on the floor. She looked relieved as she thought about the fact that Tatiana had made it to Ron. She knew that with him, she would be protected and loved.

Now all she had to concern herself with was making it out of Bulgaria alive.


	14. Chapter 14: Brown Vs Weasley

Chapter 14: Brown Vs. Weasley

Ron woke up earlier than usual. Ginny had owled him magic measuring tape so that she could get Tatiana some clothes and shoes. Ron allowed the tape to quietly take accurate measurements of the girl, despite her still sleeping form, penciled down the measurements, and sent the owl off.

He looked over at his daughter, who had curled herself into the fetal position and had Momo tightly clutched to her chest. She slept as if she had never need comfortable in all of her six years of life.

In her sleep, he started to notice things about her that was directly linked to him, despite the red hair. On her eyelids and her nose were a light dusting of freckles, she snored a little, and her ears were big like his. He couldn't help but smile at the small lady that had entered his life not even 24 hours ago. He vowed right then and there to be the best father he could be to her, no matter what happened, and to keep her safe, no matter what the costs.

Tummy rumbling, he made his way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where he was ambushed by a mass of blonde curls.

"Ron Weasley, what happened to you yesterday?!" yelled Lavender as she pushed Ron into the wall.

"Not so loud!" he said in a harsh whisper.

"What do you mean by that?! Who do I have to be quiet in here all of a sudden? DO YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN YOUR ROOM WON-WON?" exclaimed Lavender, in a tizzy.

"Yes I do and if you would just stop your harping for a second-"

"Merlin, I can't believe you! You prat! You pig! Where is she?! I want to see her!"

"Can you calm your ass down first?!" said Ron, shaking his hands back and forth to get her to shut up.

"How dare you cheat on me and then all me to calm down!" Lavender screamed as she slapped Ron's arms over and over.

"Lavender, lay off and let me explain!"

"I thought you loved me Ron Weasley! You sneaky prat! You cad! You piece of-"

"Get off my Daddy!" screamed a small voice, and suddenly Lavender was knocked back across the room and onto the floor, as if an invisible gust of wind had blown her.

"Tatiana, calm down, it's okay." said Ron as he walked over to check on the little girl. She had just displayed early signs of magic like all child witches and wizards do, only hers were so powerful, you would think that she was in her 4th year of Hogwarts and had lost control for a second.

"She wanted to hurt you, Daddy!" said Tatiana looking over at Lavender, as she was gathering herself.

"Don't worry, your Mummy has done way more damage than that." he said thinking about the canaries.

Lavender smoothed down her clothes and walked over to Ron, bewildered.

"Did I hear her correctly, Won-Won? Did this child just call you Daddy?" asked Lavender.

"Won-Won?" repeated Tatiana with her nose turned up.

"Lavender, I'd like you to meet Tatiana Rose Weasley. She's my daughter... And Hermione's." said Ron both proudly and hesitantly.

Lavender looked completely amazed. "Daughter?! Since when do you have a daughter?!"

Tatiana inched closer to her father and held onto the bottom of his shirt. "Since June 10th, six years ago?" said Ron, placing his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

Lavender studied the girl intently. As much as she wanted to argue the statements being made, she couldn't deny that face, nor that hair. The child looked like the perfect blend of her parents, at least what Lavender remembered of Hermione.

Speaking of Hermione...

"Where is Granger, then?" asked Lavender. Tatiana glared at her. Even though she was only six, she could still tell when someone's tone had attitude.

"That isn't up for discussion." said Ron, firmly. "The point is that she is here with me, and shall be for the rest of her life. I trust you will be kind to her?"

"Why wouldn't I be kind to the daughter of your long lost ex-girlfriend, who just happened to show up six years later out of nowhere?" said Lavender, eyes narrowed.

"Lav, not in front of my daughter, I'm warning you." said Ron in a low, threatening voice.

Lavender got the message and faked a smile at the girl, who faked one back.

"Who are you?" asked Tatiana, suddenly feeling very brave.

Lavender kneeled down so that she was eye level with Tatiana.

"I'm Lavender Brown." said Lavender, holding out her hand. "I went to school with your mum and dad."

Tatiana looked at Lavender's hand, but didn't take it.

"Mummy told me about you." said Tatiana.

'Oh shit.' thought Ron.

"Really? And what did your mummy tell you dear?" asked Lavender sweetly.

Tatiana thought about it for a second. "Mummy tells me to always be kind to others." she said, looking as smug as a six year old could.

Lavender looked up at Ron, who shrugged, trying not to laugh. She then withdrew her hand and stood up.

"She seems lovely." said Lavender.

"Thank you." said both Ron and Tatiana. Tatiana gave Lavender a fake, but dazzling smile that resembled her father's.

"Can you at least tell me what's about to happen?" asked Lavender, impatiently.

Ron sighed. "You can wash up yourself, can you Tati?" he asked, looking down at his daughter.

Tatiana beamed at her father. "Auntie Ari calls me Tati. And yes, I can. I'm careful not to get the soap in my eyes."

"Good girl. Go and wash up. After that, we will eat breakfast and go back to the safe place. You'll like that, won't you?"

Tatiana nodded enthusiastically and went back in the bedroom to where she knew the bathroom was.

As soon as she was out of earshot. Lavender went in.

"Okay Ron Weasley, what's really going on?! Why is she here? Did you know about her? Where is Granger?"

"Okay, first things first." snapped Ron. "I already don't like that you call her by her last name, but whenever my daughter is around, you will refer to her as Hermione. As far as if I knew about Tatiana, not until yesterday. And as far as where Hermione is, that's what we are trying to figure out."

"So she just left your child at your mum's doorstep or something? Some mother." said Lavender, shaking her head.

Ron took in a deep breath to keep himself from hexing her. "Okay, first of all, she didn't just leave her at Mum's doorstep. She's a bloody great mum. And she is in danger. She sent Tatiana here to keep her out of danger, and we need to find her before it's too late."

Lavender looked as if she wasn't buying it. "A likely story. All of a sudden you have a long lost daughter?! And you have never even told me where Hermione disappeared to in the first place."

"That's because it was never any of your business." said Ron.

"None of my business?! I'm your girlfriend! It is all my business!" said Lavender, stomping her foot. "Especially now since you have a child! She didn't have the decency to even tell you that you were a father!"

"Shut the fuck up Lavender! You know nothing! You have no idea what Hermione has gone through, nor my daughter! If you don't like the way things are going to be from now on, you can get the fuck out and go back to your own flat! And I mean every word of that!" yelled Ron, softly enough that Tatiana wouldn't hear, but loud enough to get his point across.

Lavender opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. She then crossed her arms and pouted.

"Fine. I'll deal with it. But it doesn't mean I have to like it." she pouted.

"When it comes to that little girl in there, it does. We are a package deal, and if you can't handle that, then you're more than welcome to leave." said Ron, pointing to the door.

Lavender sighed. Once again, Hermione Granger was coming in between their relationship. Only this time, it was her as well as a girl that she 100% knew that she could never compete with. So she might as well go with the flow.

"I can deal with it." said Lavender in a defeated voice. "And I won't be cross or anything like that with your daughter."

Ron nodded and went to the kitchen to start breakfast.

"Daddy? I don't have a dress to wear." called out Tatiana from Ron's bedroom.

"You'll shrink one of yours for her? And make it child appropriate?" asked Ron to Lavender.

Lavender nodded and walked into Ron's room, where she saw the little girl sitting in a towel on Ron's bed. She looked through her overnight bag and found a pink polo dress. She shrunk it down to what she thought would be Tatiana's size and handed it to her.

* * *

"Can...can you help me button it?" asked Tatiana timidly, suddenly not feeling as brave as she did when her father was around. "I have trouble with buttons."

"Sure dear, hold on. said Lavender, as she bent down and buttoned the dress up.

"Can you do my hair pretty?" asked Tatiana once again nervously.

Lavender couldn't help but smile. At least she was more of a girly girl than her mother.

She got a chair and sat it in front of Ron's mirror. She then scorgified her comb and brush, grabbed a couple of her hair twists, and proceeded to try to tame the little girl's long sandy red curly locks.

Tatiana held onto Momo tightly as she watched Lavender brush her hair gently in the mirror. "Mummy brushes my hair like this." she whispered.

"Does she? That's nice of her isn't it?" said Lavender, trying to humor her.

"I miss her. But I'm glad I'm here with Daddy." she said as she played with Momo's ear.

"And I'm certain your Daddy is glad to have you here too."

"When we help Mummy, then we will be a family." said Tatiana in a more hopeful voice.

"Really?" said Lavender, not really wanting to hear the hopes and dreams of a six year old that was insinuating that her parents would be together.

"Oh yes. Just me, Mummy, and Daddy. And maybe a dog. I would like a dog. Mummy used to have a cat. But Father Krum killed it."

Lavender's eyes grew big with curiosity. "Father Krum? As in Viktor Krum? Is he your real father?"

No silly. Daddy is my real Daddy. Father Krum is a bad mad that hurts Mummy." said Tatiana sadly.

"Oh." said Lavender, suddenly feeling more sorry than curious. "Is...is that who your mummy is with now?"

Tatiana shrugged slowly. "I dunno. I hope not."

Lavender decided to change the subject. She could see the sadness in Tatiana's eyes and could tell that she had been through a heavy ordeal, and very much missed her mother.

"What's your favorite thing to do?" she asked.

"I like to read. Mummy taught me how to read big words when I was littler. And I like to draw pictures, and play with dolls. But I had to leave my dolls behind. All I could bring was Momo." said Tatiana, showing her bunny in the mirror so Lavender could see it.

Ron stood by the door quietly and watched the two interact. He admired the fact that Lavender was being gentle with his child, despite her hating Hermione. He thought about the fact that she would more than likely be extremely hurt whenever they found Hermione. They couldn't very well continue whatever it was they had. It wouldn't be right to none of the girls. Besides, his heart always belonged to Hermione. And he knew that Lavender knew deep down that it was so.

"That's a smart looking rabbit." said Lavender. "I used to have one once. A real one. His name was Binky. I had him for a long time, until he died in my third year. A mean fox got to him."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Poor bunny."

"It's fine. I've gotten over it."

"Was he your best friend?" asked Tatiana.

"He was a friend. But my best friend is Parvati Patil. Well was. I haven't really-"

"Parvati Patil? I know her! She's really pretty and so nice!" "exclaimed Tatiana.

"You know Parvati?" asked Lavender as well as Ron, giving himself away.

"Oh hi Daddy! See my hair?" said Tatiana as she showed off the French braids Lavender had put in them.

"Yes, little love, I do, it looks very nice. But what were you saying about Parvati Patil? You know her?" asked Ron, kneeling down.

"Of course I know her. She's Father Krum's other wife. She doesn't like him either. She helped me and Mummy too. And then she went away." said Tatiana sadly.

Lavender and Ron looked at each other and back at Tatiana. They couldn't believe what they were just told.

"Went away? What do you mean, went away?" asked Lavender.

"Last time I saw her was one night when she read me a story. The next day, she was gone. And Mummy said that she had went somewhere safe. And that was when we started to try to get away."

Lavender started to tear up. She tan out the room, crying.

"What's wrong Daddy?"

"She hasn't seen her best friend in a very long time. She misses her, just like you miss your mummy." said Ron.

"What about you?" asked Tatiana. "Do you miss Mummy too?"

Ron held back a tear as he smiled and nodded. "Yes little love, I do. I miss your mum a whole lot."

* * *

 _Sofia, Bulgaria, 2 days later_.

Hermione sat against the wall, her bed begging to be laid in, however couldn't be reached, as she was chained to the bottom of the wall, and could only go but so far.

She was hungry, thirsty, hurt, dirty, and weak. The only things that was keeping her going was her thoughts of Tatiana, Ron, and reading Hogwarts, A History in her head, and even those thoughts had ran their course.

They had came and tortured her, eating four course meals and drinking water in her face, beat her, and a couple of times, used the cruciatus curse on her. They did what they could to violate her, without actually raping her. All in the hopes that she would give up the location of her daughter. She kept her mouth closed. She'd would rather die, which was what she felt she was doing at that very moment.

She thought about Tatiana. How even though she was only blessed with six short years with her, and even though all six years were filled with pain, they were still just as good as the seven years she had spent with Harry and Ron. She knew that Ron would take the best care of her in the world, that Molly would dote on her and cherish her like she did Victoire, and that she would grow up and hopefully be the brightest witch of her age, just like her.

She thought of Ron and how she always loved him. She wished that she could have at least seen him one last time, his crimson hair, his bright, sapphire eyes, his lopsided grin that gave her butterflies every time he would do it, and the way he made her feel nothing but unconditional love. She would miss him just as much as she would miss their creation.

She felt as if she was knocking on death's door. She felt herself fading in and out, her vision getting blurry. She heard what she thought was a loud crack. She thought it could be anything, even her own bones breaking under being so weak and beaten on.

The last thing she saw before she faded was a pair of violently green eyes. She knew those eyes from anywhere. Which meant she knew where she was headed.

'I guess this was what Beedle And The Bard meant by greeting death as an old friend.' she thought as she took what felt like her last breath.


	15. Chapter 15: The Plans

Chapter 15: The Plans

"Alright, so what do we already know?" asked Kingsley to Draco, Blaise Zabini, and the Weasley clan, minus Molly, Ginny, Angelina, and Fleur. They had gathered over at the Burrow unbeknownst to their wives and mother, as they were with at Fred and Angelina's with the kids.

"Well we know that Hermione and Tati had been to Muggle London before, but they stayed in Sofia, Bulgaria." said Ron.

"We know that my father is also involved, and is now a renewed Death Eater." said Draco, disgusted.

"I'm still trying to figure out how Hermione and Tatiana got into the country without my knowledge." said Blaise. "Even though I'm not a Death Eater, as head of the department of international affairs, I should have at least seen a document with their names on it. Even heard a whisper."

"Depends on when they were here, mate." said Draco. "You've only been at that job for two years. "

"And from what you told me, the girl wouldn't have been able to remember Big Ben unless it was either sometime last year, or this year. Don't you start remembering at age 4 or some shit?"

"How the hell would I know that Zabini?"

"Anyways, what else?" said Fred, interrupting what looked like the start of an idiotic and unnecessary argument.

"We need to get in touch with Padma Patil." said Bill. "She's the twin to that Parvati witch, right? She must know something about her sister and what's been going on. Has Tatiana said anything else about her, Ronnie?"

"Only that she went through a lot of what Hermione did and that she helped them and then disappeared." said Ron. "Apparently to somewhere safe from what she was told. That could be anywhere in the world."

"We really need to get a hold of your father, Malfoy." said Charlie. "He still out of town?"

Draco nodded. "He keeps sending Mother owls saying something about negotiations not going well."

"Well, is there any way your mum can get him to come here?" asked George. "Can she say she is having an affair or broke her leg or something?"

Draco glared at the twin. "I won't have my mother being referred to as a slag, Weasley! Besides, knowing my father, he would more than likely beat her ass and that's another thing I don't want happening to her."

"Kidding, of course." said George holding up his hands in surrender.

"He does have an idea though, Draco." said Bill. "Can she make something up to where it won't cause her any harm, but be serious enough for him to come home?"

Draco sighed. "I don't like this. I don't like this shit at all. However, what other option do we have? I can't say that Gin went into labor early or some shit. He wasn't even there for Orion's birth. I'll talk to her tonight I guess."

"We will protect your mother at all costs if it comes down to it, Draco." said Kingsley, trying to quell the worry that was building up in Draco.

"You had better. This is your sick plan."

"Moving on, who can get in touch with Padma Patil?" asked Bill. "Wasn't she in your year, Ronnie? Didn't you go to the Yule Ball with her?"

Ron groaned at the memory, while Fred and George smirked. "I did, but we didn't really get on. I barely spoke to the girl. And while we were in the same year, she was in Ravenclaw. Parvati was the one in Gryffindor. I don't know shit about her."

"Do you think owling her about her sister would peak her interest?" asked Charlie.

"I'll try" said Ron as he got up to find some parchment and a quill.

"We need to talk strategy. What will we do when we get a hold of Lucius?" said Fred. "I know we had agreed on Veritaserum, but what about after?"

"That's easy enough, isn't it?" said Draco. "Hold him captive, break his wand. Shit, kill him for all I care."

"That's your father, Draco." said Kingsley in disbelief.

Draco shrugged. "I lost my father a long time ago. It really doesn't matter to me what happens to him."

"It's a good thing Gin is as pregnant as she is." said George. "She'd want to be the first to have a go at him."

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it." said Bill. "I vote we hold him prisoner. Just got to find a place secure enough."

'"I may have one." said Blaise. "You'll have to travel though, mind you. It's in Italy. It's a property that my nonna owns, but since she stays with Ma now, she won't care that I use is. Its under many wards, as well as the fidelius charm and only us three know its location. Once you step in, you'll be secret keepers."

"Thanks, mate." said Draco.

"Its nothing. Don't go turning into a bitch on me about it." joked Blaise.

"Letter is done." said Ron holding up an envelope with Pigwidgeon perched on his shoulder. "I simply wrote that we have heard some things about her sister and we need her help to clear everything up. I made it sound urgent, so hopefully I'll get a reply back soon."

He gave the letter to the excited owl, went outside, and tossed him into the air to give him some extra lift. Pig flew into the night.

"That's done. Now, how are we gonna get the git?" asked Ron. "An ambush? A lure?"

"Has to be an ambush."said Draco. "Lucius won't go for being lured anywhere. The best thing to do is to ambush and break his wand. He's a Malfoy, so he can easily apparate out of the manor to Merlin knows where, so getting a hold of that wand is key."

"When do you want to do this?" asked George to no one in particular.

"Tomorrow." said Ron firmly. "It has to be tomorrow. Tati misses her mum and it's no telling what is happening to Hermione. We need to end this thing. She needs to be home."

The men looked at Ron, each look different, but all were thinking the same thing.

"Can you do this, Ronnie?" asked Bill. "You don't know what could happen, what is happening, or what has happened. You can't lose your head if something happened to Hermione."

"Hermione is okay." said Ron in a low voice.

"You say that, but you don't know for sure." said Bill, trying to be realistic.

"I have to feel that Bill. I can't tell my six year old that something is wrong with her mother. I can't tell myself that something has happened to her. She has to be okay! She just has to be!"

"And what if she isn't?"

"Why the bloody hell are you acting like she's already gone or some shit, Bill?! It's like you want her to be dead!" Ron yelled.

"You know damn well I don't want that, Ron!" said Bill. "I just need for your head to be right. You can't go into this shit with blind rage and end up killed, okay?! Who will your daughter have then if both of you are gone?! This is war, Ron. We have to be realistic about everything. And I mean everything."

Ron eyed Bill harshly. He really wanted to punch his brother in the face. However, he knew that his brother was right. He had to keep a level head about everything. For Tatiana's sake.

"I'll be fine." said Ron. "I'm not going to stay back while I let you guys find her. I have to do it too."

"But what about your daughter, mate?" asked Blaise.

"Mum can look after her." sighed Ron. "I won't allow myself to have anything happen to me. Especially when I don't know for sure if I'm all Tati has."

* * *

 _Unknown Location_

Hermione thought she was hearing sounds. The sound of movement. The sound of a door. The sound of water being poured in something. Sounding so far away, and yet, so close.

She cleared her mind as she tried to hone in on the noises. Though these were everyday noises, they also sounded different. It sounded like bare feet on a creaking wood floor. Her floor was stone. That couldn't be right.

She tried to focus on opening her eyes. The task that should have been as easy as breathing felt as if she was trying to lift something heavy with her eyelids. She breathed in and no longer smelled the disgusting smell of her body and the dampness of her room. Everything smelled fresh around her. Fresh linens, like the Burrow used to smell in the summer after Molly washed clothes. Like Ron did when he would put on a fresh shirt and she would lay on top of him, inhaling him.

'Must be Heaven.' she thought as she once again tried to open her eyes. She had succeeded this time, and a rush of red came flooding her vision.

She was in a room. A red and gold room. Gryffindor tower? Of course her heaven would resemble Gryffindor tower. Her third home. Would have been nice if it resembled the Burrow though.

She tried to move her arms, but found the task even more bothersome than opening her eyes. And it was then that she realized, she wasn't the only one in the room.

"Not so fast, Hermione. Don't wanna overexert yourself." said a pleasant and familiar sounding voice.

Hermione's eyes darted over to the right where the voice had came from. She wanted to widen her eyes at the sight, but simply couldn't.

"Pa... P...Parvati?" Hermione managed to whisper. Even talking was weakening. Some heaven this was. Shouldn't she be 100% well?

Parvati smiled sweetly at her. "I'm glad that you still remember me. Means your mind is functioning well."

"Parvati... Are you...are we sharing a room?" Hermione pushed out breathlessly.

Parvati looked at Hermione with a confused, but almost motherly expression on her face. "Sharing a room? Where, Hermione?"

"I saw his eyes...this is Heaven, isn't it?" asked Hermione.

Parvati took a warm rag and started wiping Hermione's face with it. "No. Far from it, actually. But believe me when I say, you're just as safe here as you would be in Heaven."

Hermione blinked quickly. "So, I'm not dead? I survived? But where am I?"

"You're at my mother's childhood home, Hermione. We're in India. Far away from Krum, far away from You Know Who, and no one can find us here. Do you want me to help you sit up?" said Parvati.

Hermione managed a nod. Parvati gently put her arm under Hermione's back while holding onto her hand. She gently pushed/pulled Hermione's weak body into a sitting position and put a cup to her lips. Hermione felt relief as she allowed the cool water to quench her aching thirst. She felt almost overwhelmed by it, but in a good way.

"More, please." whispered Hermione. Parvati smiled as she poured another cup and once again helped Hermione consume it.

"How did I get here?" asked Hermione.

Parvati's smile disappeared. "Ari sent a patronus to me, telling me how you had been captured, but Tatiana has gotten away. It managed to avoid the Death Eaters, but...well I figured you were back at Krum's so we got one of my mother's old house elves to apparate us into the house, and we rescued you. That was about a day ago."

"So you and Ari saved me? Where is she?"

"No, my friend and I saved you. We couldn't help Arista." said Parvati, shedding a tear.

Hermione wanted to scream and cry her eyes out, however, tears were unable to form in her eyes, so she nodded slowly. "Tati is going to be heartbroken." she whispered. "We loved her so much."

"They just left her poor body in her flat. We gave her a proper burial, if that means anything." said Parvati.

"That means a lot actually." said Hermione. "I wish I could get in touch with her family."

"We can try to do that later. Right now, the important thing to do is to get you healthy again. Lots and lots of food is on its way." giggled Parvati as she handed Hermione another cup.

Hermione gave a nod as she drank from the cup, this time, tasting something foreign. She made a face at the cup, and then at Parvati.

"You look just like Tatiana looks when she doesn't want to take medicine." laughed Parvati. "It's a strengthening potion. Despite its taste, you must drink all of it."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but cracked a smile. She then chugged the rest of the potion, so she didn't have to taste it fully.

In an instant, she started to feel a bit better. Her body didn't ache and feel heavy, her lungs felt more full, and she felt as if she could move better.

"Now where was this stuff for us when we were in school?" asked Hermione, her voice sounding much stronger.

"It can be addicting. I've been told it's the equivalent to muggle steroids, so it can be abused, which is why Madam Pomfrey only gave some in dire situations, and never told students what it was."

"Sounds logical. Have you heard anything from Tatiana? Or Ron?" asked Hermione.

"No, nothing. But she's safe, trust me. When we were rescuing you, we could overhear Krum yelling to someone about not being able to find her." said Parvati.

"I'm glad no one thought to look at the Burrow." said Hermione.

"That's true, but it's only a matter of time before they start to look." said Parvati, sadly.

Hermione sighed. She didn't want to think about that. "I need to get to her. When can I leave?"

"That is going to be tricky." said Parvati. "You Know Who has had England on lockdown for the past week. Thankfully, he hasn't been monitoring the owls that fly out. He's so damn arrogant. He actually thinks no one is communicating through owls internationally."

"So I can owl Ron?" asked Hermione, enthusiastically.

"I wouldn't. Not yet. They could be watching him, you never know."

"Why would they? No one knows that Tatiana is his except Ari, you, and I. I have to write him! I need to know if he has her for sure! If she's okay!" said Hermione, frantically.

"Calm down, Hermione." pleaded Parvati "Just give it a day or two, please. Or at least let me see what I can do, okay?"

Hermione was irate, but she nodded. She had to know what was going on. But she knew that Parvati's words were wise, and the right thing to do would be to follow them, for now at least.

"I'm here!" called a far off voice from outside the door.

"We're in the guest room. Hermione is awake now!" called Parvati back. She gave Hermione a half smile, half wince.

"That your dad? I've never even asked how your family is doing." said Hermione.

"Dad is trapped in England with Padma. For some dumb reason, she didn't want to leave, and he didn't want to leave her there by herself." said Parvati. A knock came at the door and she stood up and walked to it and let the person in.

Hermione gasped in astonishment as her eyes that were now as huge as the golden dinner plates at Hogwarts met the same vibrant green eyes that she had last seen before she had passed out. The eyes of a dead man. The eyes of her best friend.

Harry Potter.


	16. Chapter 16: Back From The Dead

Holy twisted plot twist cliffhanger Kisha! Lol

Don't worry, this chapter should answer the majority of your questions.

On with the fic :)

* * *

Chapter 16: Back From The Dead

 _New Delhi, India_

Hermione didn't know what to feel as she looked upon her best friend whom she thought dead for the past seven years. She wanted to hug him, to cry on his shoulder, to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

Instead, the emotion that she felt way back when Ron had returned to them from being gone for weeks during the horcrux hunt consumed her. Rage. And she did the only thing she could do with it.

Hermione jumped off the bed, grabbed a pillow, and violently hit Harry with it as hard as she could.

"YOU...COMPLETE... ASSHOLE HARRY POTTER!" she yelled as she smacked a yelling Harry around with the pillow. "YOU HAD US ALL THINKING THAT YOU WERE DEAD...FOR SEVEN...BLOODY...YEARS...AND YOU'VE... BEEN...ALIVE...ALL THIS TIME?!"

"Hermione, if you would just-"

"NO! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU HARRY!" yelled Hermione, tears streaming down her face as she threw the pillow down. "RON AND I CRIED FOR YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS! GINNY REFUSED TO SPEAK TO ANYONE FOR MONTHS! SHE WROTE HER THOUGHTS DOWN WITH A BLOODY SHADOW QUILL AND NOTEBOOK! MRS. WEASLEY WAS HEARTBROKEN! HOW DARE YOU HARRY!"

"HERMIONE, PLEASE!" yelled Harry. I CAN'T EXPLAIN, JUST LISTEN TO ME!"

"NO! DON'T SAY A DAMN WORD TO ME HARRY JAMES POTTER! YOU JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!" screamed Hermione as she backed away.

Parvati put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Hermi-"

"AND YOU! exclaimed Hermione as she turned harshly towards Parvati. "YOU KNEW HE WAS ALIVE?!"

Parvati looked down at the floor. Hermione threw her arms up in disgust.

"Merlin, I can't believe this! You lied to me too?!"

"She wasn't supposed to know, Hermione." said Harry, softly. "No one was."

"How? I want to know how Harry!" yelled Hermione, pointing a finger at Harry's nose.

"I'll tell you everything, just calm down. Please?" begged Harry.

Hermione glared at him as she sat down in one of the chairs that was in the sitting area of the bedroom. Harry and Parvati sat on the couch across from her, keeping their distance.

"At the battle, Voldemort had thrown a curse at me with intentions of killing me. I had managed to throw up a shield charm just in time and it hit the shield and caused an explosion, sending me back into the castle, where rubble fell on top of me. I saw that...that fucking snake bite off and swallow Neville's right leg. Fortunately, she didn't see me, and she slithered away."

"I could hear Voldemort and the Death Eaters celebrating and I knew that I couldn't show my face again. Not if I was going to get rid of that fucking snake. It's the last horcrux. As long as it lives, Voldemort does too. Besides, I couldn't exactly move. My leg and arm were broke as well as a couple ribs."

"I laid there for about three days, until a few of the Hogwarts house elves found me. They took me to some unknown and untouched part of the castle and nursed me back to health. It took me a few months before I could leave. I was actually there when Voldemort started Hogwarts back up. Nothing but Slytherin purebloods and the ones that were ordered to send their kids that were half bloods. Some of their kids more than likely never returned home."

"Anyways, around Christmas, I had the elves apparate me to Grimmauld Place, which, despite what happened with the Ministry, the Death Eaters didn't know about it. Some ward that was put on the house killed Yaxley. Kreacher told me about that. He also kept me in the loop about what was going on in the wizarding world, and while I didn't know about what happened to you Hermione, I did hear about Malfoy and Ginny." Harry sighed and cringed at the words he had said. Hermione didn't feel the least bit sorry for him.

"I stayed in Grimmauld Place for years trying to figure out where Nagini could be. I had heard through whispers on the street that Voldemort would have her traveling to do his dirty work. I would step out in disguise from time to time, just for a bit of fresh air. I would have Kreacher get muggle contact lenses instead of glasses, I actually put that make up shit over my scar, and I had even dyed my hair once. However, my hair turned back from blonde to black in less than two hours, so that was a no go. Anyways, as I said, I was sneak away sometimes and sure enough, the one time I thought I was well disguised, Parvati recognized me."

Parvati rolled her eyes.

"She, of course, was just as mad as you were, but she kept me informed and that's how I found out about you, Hermione. I knew that something wasn't right, so Parvati and I hatched a plan and she sacrificed her safety to look after you. She pretended to love Krum and married him in secret to look after you, and she would sneak away, keeping me informed as we formulated a plan to get you and your daughter out. Congrats by the way."

Hermione scowled at him, but nodded.

"For months, we didn't know exactly what to do, but then, when Parvati found out you had a friend there helping you two as well, we recruited her and-"

"Wait a second." interrupted Hermione. "Arista knew about you? And she didn't tell me?"

"I made her promise, Hermione." said Harry. "If you knew I was alive, you would have tried to find me, and you couldn't do that. That's why I didn't let Ron or anybody else know either. With the exception of Parvati's mother, no one else but Parvati and your friend knew. As I was saying, when Parvati had to leave because her mother was sick, that's when we decided to try to get you out too. The plan was to get both you and Tatiana here, but by the time we were going to execute it, we got the patronus saying that she was gone and you were in trouble. And I'm guessing Parvati filled you in on the rest?"

Hermione nodded. She felt exhausted just listening to the story. She could only imagine what Harry had felt like all these years. Though she was still very angry with him, she couldn't help but feel bad and also elated to see that he had indeed lived. And she would be eternally grateful for Parvati's sacrifice.

"You didn't have to do that, Par." said Hermione. "You endured a lot. I remember hearing the screaming."

Parvati shrugged. "I did endure some things, but as a pureblood, I got to keep my wand, so I was able to fight back sometimes. I was just happy that you wasn't getting it every day anymore, and also that Tatiana was never hurt."

Hermione got up and ran over to Parvati, almost knocking the couch over as she crashed into her, hugging her tightly. She then let go, and allowed her anger for Harry to melt as she crashed into him and hugged him tightly, allowing the tears to fall. She cried loudly, and long. She cried for everything. For the return of her best friend, for her daughter, for being free of the prison she had endured for seven long years, and for Ron, whom she missed just as terribly as she missed Tatiana.

Harry couldn't help but tear up as well as he hugged his unofficial sister back. He had been dreaming of being reunited with his best friends for years, and even though it was just Hermione, he couldn't help but feel he was slowly gaining his home back.

"So, am I safe?" he asked jokingly.

Hermione let go of him and shook her head, yet she was smiling. "For now. You won't be let off the hook fully, Harry Potter. But I am elated to see you again, I really am."

"I'm glad to see you too." said Harry. "And I'm also hungry. There's almost a banquet waiting downstairs if you feel like eating."

As if on cue, Hermione's stomach growled. The three friends couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

 _Malfoy Manor, the next afternoon._

Draco paced back and forth in his mother's study, the anticipation of his father's return, and the lies that he was about to spew were driving him ragged. It wasn't that he was nervous about lying to his father. He had done that plenty of times flawlessly since the age of four. He was just none too excited on the subject that he was going to lie on.

When he had addressed his mother on the situation the night before, they had came up with the lie of saying that he wanted to get rid of Ginny. Divorce was out of the question, so there had to be another solution. As much as neither party wanted to use Ginny as a scapegoat in this way, both of them knew that it would be a sure way to get his father's attention.

Sure enough, the next morning, Lucius floo called and told Narcissa that he would be home by 4 to straighten out the nasty details.

"She hates me, Mother." said Draco as he paced back and forth. "She's probably gonna think I actually want her and our unborn baby dead."

"She doesn't think that at all, darling." said Narcissa, trying her best to comfort her son. "She knows that it was the most convincing excuse to get him to come back. She knows you adore her and the baby."

"I don't know." said Draco. "Pardon my expression Mother, but I feel rather fucked up."

Narcissa let out a laugh. "This is one of those situations where it is fucked up, as you so eloquently put it. But I'm positive that Ginny won't think horrible thoughts about you. Is everyone where they are needed to be?"

Draco nodded. The Weasley boys, Blaise, and the twins friend Lee Jordan were in the secret hideaway of his mother's study, ready to come out once they heard Draco's code words, which were "I don't give a damn about the woman". He knew his father couldn't have known because he himself only discovered it a hour earlier when his mother showed it to them all.

"Where is Ginny anyways?" asked Narcissa.

"She and Orion are at the Burrow, helping her mother with things." said Draco. He hadn't told his mother about Hermione's daughter yet. He had only told her about him being involved with Death Eater work and how it tied to the well being of Hermione. He told her they were tipped off, but not that it was indeed Hermione's own child that identified Lucius.

Suddenly a pop came out of nowhere, making the both of them jump. Lucius had appeared in the middle of the room. He had seen the two of them flinch and was amused.

"No need for the surprise family, it's only me." said Lucius smugly. "Although, considering the circumstances, I can see why."

"Let's just get on with it." said Narcissa in believable impatience.

"Fine. You seem in a hurry for things to happen." said Lucius with a smirk.

"We need this done as soon as possible, Father." said Draco. "I've told her family that she is very ill, meaning that you only have a day or two to do this."

"I'm glad you have came to your senses. You wish to sacrifice your unborn in the process of this?" asked Lucius as he moved near his wife's desk, feet away from the hidden door.

"I already have an heir. One is enough." said Draco nonchalantly. His insides twisted with disgust in himself and the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Really? I am inclined to agree." said Lucius, sitting down and lighting a cigar. "And you Cissy? You don't care about having a second grandchild?"

Narcissa shrugged. "I raised one child. I can be content with having one grandchild. Besides, this will give Draco the chance at a real marriage, and real happiness."

Draco felt a twinge of anger, despite the fact that he knew his mother was completely lying.

"Okay." said Lucius, taking a quick drag of his cigar and blowing out the smoke. "I would have to make it look like an accident, as the Dark Lord won't believe it to be, and as much as he despises the Weasley's, he seems to have favor with the little bitch."

Draco felt himself wanting to lunge at his father for insulting his wife, and under normal circumstances, he would have hexed him for his words. But in this case, he had to keep calm.

Narcissa must have sensed his anger because she spoke up. "Now Lucius dear, don't go insulting the girl. It's already insulting enough that her husband wants her dead."

Lucius nodded. "Quite right Cissy, as usual. Now, how should we go about this?" asked Lucius as he stood up and started walking in the direction of the secret door, he was finally close enough.

"Do what you like, I already told you, I don't give a damn about the woman." said Draco, quite loudly.

In an instant, the door flung open. Fred, George,and Ron jumped violently onto an unsuspecting Lucius and wrestled him to the floor. Bill quickly found Lucius's wand and swiftly broke it over his thigh.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" yelled Lucius. "UNHAND ME YOU BLOOD TRAITOR FILTH!"

Lee Jordan rushed out and hit Lucius with a petrificus totalus and Lucius laid on the ground face down, stiff as a board. "See George, old chap? Told you my charms had gotten better." said Lee proudly.

George rolled his eye. "At least you didn't break a limb this time. Not that it wouldn't have been enjoyable, of course."

"Now to transport the brute." said Bill. "Would we be able to floo him to your location, Blaise?"

Blaise nodded. "Already taken care of. If we were to apparate with him, Voldy would know in an instant that something was up. Everything is set up over there with Shacklebolt, so let's get on with it."

Narcissa let out a which of relief as she watched the boys levitate her husband over to the awaiting fireplace.

"I'll be over in a sec, guys. I need to go and reiterate my undying love to my pregnant wife before her hormones take over and she hits me with one of her heels." said Draco.

One by one (with the exception of Bill and a levitated Lucius) the men disappeared into the green flames. Part one of their plan had been completed.

* * *

 _Sofia, Bulgaria_

"I swear you are the most incompetent Death Eaters I've ever met!" yelled Viktor as he threw a vase across the room, narrowly missing Dolohov's head. "You were supposed to be guarding her, you complete dolt!"

"Is this not your home, Krum?" growled Dolohov. "Do you not have wards to prevent the Mudblood from escaping? Don't even attempt to blame me for this!"

Viktor sneered at the old man. "And where the fuck is Lucius?! He said he would be back in an hour, 4 hours ago!"

Dolohov shrugged, snickering as he did so. "Wait until the Dark Lord finds out that not only have you lost the child, you've lost the Mudblood as well."

"He's not going to find out because none of us are going to tell him." said Viktor. "He will have all of our heads. No, no, we need to find the bitch. If you hadn't been so careless to kill her fucking healer friend, we would have had something to go on."

"I still say we should speak to her old redheaded flame." said Dolohov.

Vikor rolled his eyes. "That fucking piece of shit hasn't seen her since the day I took her away. He wouldn't have a clue where she is. If we knew where that Potter scum was, it would be easier to find her. She's probably with him."

Dolohov laughed loudly and long. "You must be joking. Harry Potter has been dead since the war you idiot. The Dark Lord killed him of course."

Viktor smiled smugly at the man. "Oh no, my simple minded friend. Harry Potter is very much alive. And The Dark Lord knows it. He has known it all along.


	17. Chapter 17: The Interrogation

I promise I love you guys.

I appreciate your reviews, they keep me and this story going. No, I haven't abandoned this story (nor my others), I just don't like to post anything that isn't on par, plus writer's block, plus with the holidays upon us, things are hectic. Hopefully I will be able to update all of my stories soon, and I appreciate your patience, your anticipation, and your kind words. Y'all are the bomb dot com lol.

Anyways, on with the fic :)

* * *

Chapter 17: The Interrogation

 _December 17, 2005, Verona Italy. Zabini House_

Lucius woke up dripping wet and tied to a chair.

His captors had thrown a bucket of water on him, instead of reviving him magically. Those blood traitor scum had no clue how to treat a man that was as dignified as he was.

He looked up to find that he was surrounded by a sea of red hair, with black and blonde mixed in. His eyes stopped at the blonde.

His own son. How dare he betray him. All for his blood traitor bitch that after seven years, still didn't know her place.

"Draco, what is the meaning of this?!" he shouted at his offspring.

"Well Father, it appears you know some things that we need to find out about." said Draco as if he was taunting him.

"What the hell are you talking about boy? You and your little gang of blood traitors better set me free or-"

"Or what? You gonna get old no nose on us?" mocked Ron, causing Lucius to gaze at him in bewilderment. "Oh don't look so surprised, we know all about you being a Death Eater again and you chasing Hermione, now where is she?!"

Lucius's expression turned from anger to amusement. "Ohhhh. So this doesn't have to do with my son and his bitch. This has to do with you and yours, doesn't it, young Weasley?"

The twins quickly grabbed a hold to Ron as Blaise and Lee grabbed Draco, both men wanting to rip Lucius apart for insulting their loves.

Bill tried to be the reasonable one. "Guys, come on. Questions now, violence if needed later." he said smugly.

Lucius glared at the oldest Weasley brother and sneered. "I'm not answering anything, you poor, dirty, muggle loving cretin!" he spat.

"Oh yes you will. Enough of this!" spoke up Blaise as he grabbed Lucius's head violently and pulled it back. The man struggled as Draco held tight to his cheeks, forcing his mouth open. Kingsley came from behind Blaise and poured a small vial of Veritaserum down Lucius's throat.

Lucius had swallowed the concoction, not being able spit it back out. "You sons of bitches! How dare you! What is this?!" he exclaimed angrily.

"What is your name?"asked Kingsley calmly. Draco quickly extracted Ginny's old shadow quill and notebook so that it could take Lucius's words down.

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy" said Lucius is a vicious, but monotoned voice.

"Who do you serve?" asked Kingsley.

"I serve the the Dark Lord Voldemort."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater."

Draco rolled his eyes. None of these questions would confirm anything.

"If given the chance, what would you do with my wife in secret?" asked Draco. The Weasley boys looked at him in confusion.

"I would show her how a real man fucks a whore." said Lucius in the same monotone voice.

"He's definitely under the potion." growled Draco. "I always knew he secretly wanted Ginny. He would never admit to it under normal circumstances."

"Okay." said Ron, disgusted. "Now, where is Hermione Granger?"

"She was in Sofia, Bulgaria, in Viktor Krun's estate. But she disappeared a few days ago and we don't know where she is." said Lucius.

Ron looked at Bill in bewilderment. "Maybe she escaped." said Bill with a bit of confidence in his voice.

"Why have you and your Death Eater filth been chasing after Hermione?!" asked Ron harshly.

"The child she has. Voldemort needs the child." said Lucius.

Bill put his hand over Ron's mouth quickly before Ron could say something. "What does he need her child for?" he asked.

"She is an extremely powerful witch for her age, despite her being a half blood. The Dark Lord wants to use her to take over other Wizarding communities, and then, the world. He also wants to use the child as a horcrux. To transfer his soul from the snake to the girl." said Lucius.

"The snake? That's right! It is still alive!" said George.

"Do you know where the child is?" asked Ron after wrestling Bill's hand away from his mouth.

"We have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the child. Her Mudblood mother wouldn't tell us where she sent her."

Ron couldn't help himself. He swiftly punched Lucius hard in the jaw. Lucius spit out a tooth.

"Don't you ever call her a Mudblood again, you prick." growled Ron, ready to punch him again.

"What has Viktor Krum done with Hermione and her child? Or do you know?" asked Fred.

"Krum has done nothing to the child. The mud... the girl however is a different story. She has been beaten and raped by Krum and Dolohov for years." said Lucius.

Ron grabbed at his hair, pulling so hard in frustration that he managed to pull a few strands out. "Those fucking bitches! I'll kill them!"

"Ronnie, calm down!" yelled Bill.

"Have you fucking touched her, you scum?!" growled Ron, looking directly at Lucius, his ceruleans looking as if they had blue flames in them.

"I would never disgrace myself with fucking a Muggleborn. I have however, taught her quite a few lessons about staying in her place. She has a lot of cheek." said Lucius with a smirk.

Ron pounced on Lucius, knocking the chair and him to the floor, his fists hitting the man everywhere with blunt force. "You son of a bitch! I'll bloody kill you, I swear I will!"

It took Draco, Fred, George, and Bill to stop the assault Ron was dealing out to Lucius. Lucius was thoroughly beaten, looking like a wounded weakling rather than the Death Eater aristocrat that he was.

Bill grabbed Ron's face and made him focus solely on him. "Come on now. Ronnie. You can't do this." whispered Bill. "You can't kill this man. You're a father, and your daughter needs you. Hermione needs you. Focus on them, Ron. Please. Don't do this."

Tears rolled effortlessly down Ron's cheeks as he focused on his brother's words and light blue eyes. He breathed heavily, trying desperately to calm down. He had never in his life felt so much rage. He had never in his life came that close to killing a man with his bare hands.

He couldn't take it anymore. He flopped into Bill's arms, laying his head on his shoulder, crying into it.

"They hurt my Mione, Bill. They hurt my Mione." he kept repeating as he weeped in his brother's arms. Bill held him close as he rubbed Ron's back, just like he used to when Ron was a little boy.

Kingsley then poured a forgetfulness potion, along with a sleeping draught down Lucius's throat to knock him out for a few hours, and to ensure he wouldn't remember the interrogation when he woke up. They then dragged the chair with Lucius still tied to it into a room and magically sealed the door.

Bill, Ron, and Draco left Italy. Draco went to see about his mother, wife, and son, while Bill and Ron went to the Burrow.

As soon as Ron stepped into the Burrow, he went straight for Tatiana, who was sitting on the couch drawing a picture. He scooped her up in his arms and hugged her close, being careful not to squeeze her too tightly.

"I'm so sorry." whispered Ron as he cried into his daughter's hair.

"What's wrong Daddy? Why are you crying?" asked Tatiana as she pushed off her father and looked at his tear soaked expression.

"I'm just so very sorry I wasn't there for you and Mummy, little love." sobbed Ron. "I should have been there."

Tatiana wiped Ron's tears off of his face. "Don't cry Daddy. Please don't be sad."

She wiggled out of Ron's arms and went to pick up Momo. She then brought him over to Ron, and placed him in his hands. "Here. Momo makes Mummy and me feel better when we hug him. You can hug him too." she said cheerfully.

Ron couldn't help but laugh as he hugged the bunny. "You're amazing, do you know that?" he said as he embraced his daughter once more.

* * *

Ron apparated back to his flat with Tatiana. As soon as he opened the door, he felt as if something was off.

There were nice smells coming from the kitchen. It almost smelled like his mum or somebody had popped over and cooked for them. So he was extremely surprised to see Lavender in his kitchen with an apron on, stirring what looked to be a pot of spaghetti.

"What's all this?" asked Ron as he put Tatiana down from holding her.

Lavender smiled. "Well, I knew that you were talking to Draco's father today, and I thought it would be stressful, and I figured you and Tatiana would be hungry. So, I cooked."

Tatiana licked her lips as she saw Lavender lift the hot spaghetti out of the pot and onto a plate. She then poured what looked to be homemade marinara sauce on top of it.

Ron was actually very impressed. "Since when do you cook? You've never cooked."

"You've never asked." said Lavender with a wink.

She proceeded to serve Tatiana, then Ron, and then herself. She had made spaghetti and meatballs along with fresh salad, breadsticks, and had baked a cherry pie.

The three ate the meal and listened to Tatiana enthusiastically speak on her dolls, her mother, and all the other good things that she had encountered and done in her six years of living. She was extremely excited to talk about books, something that Ron was elated to hear about, despite his dislike for most of them. Hermione had passed her love of the written word onto their daughter, and even though she wasn't the best reader being only six years old, her head was full of stories that her mother had read to her, both muggle and wizard.

When dinner was done, Ron ran Tatiana a bath and put her in her new pajamas her aunt had brought her. Ginny had over killed on buying Tatiana things. Her new room was completely furnished, along with toys, books, and a wardrobe that was bigger than Ron's with clothes and shoes that could probably pay the rent for years. Tatiana was extremely appreciative of everything, but she hardly played with the toys, sticking to Momo and a couple of her new dolls as well as a tea set, and she would always beg Ron to read her at least three books before she went to sleep.

When he was done putting her to bed, Ron came out of her room to the sitting room to find that Lavender had made tea. They sat down and sipped it quietly, both of them anticipating a serious conversation.

"I suppose you want to know what's going on?" asked Ron, finally. Lavender nodded and sat her cup down, giving Ron her full attention, as he explained what was going on with Hermione, as well as what had happened earlier that day.

"I am so sorry to hear that, Ron." said Lavender, truthfully. "I know Hermione and I didn't get on, but I would never wish anything like that upon her. She is a strong woman to endure that. Much stronger than me."

"You're strong, Lav. You survived Greyback." said Ron.

"Yes, but that was one time. Hermione has gone through ages of abuse and she still managed to keep her daughter safe from it. I can see why you love her so much." said Lavender, nervously.

Ron sighed. He really didn't know what to say. He knew that Lavender had some feelings for him, but he also knew that he wouldn't have ever been able to give his all to her, no matter how hard he tried.

"Lavender, I-"

"You don't have to say anything Ron. I'm not stupid to think that I could ever compete with Hermione Granger. You've loved her before you even knew what liking girls was all about. She's always had your heart, and she always will. I knew when you said that the lovely child in that room was your daughter how it was going to be. And I have already accepted it."

Ron grinned. "So, does this mean that you're breaking up with me?" he joked.

Lavender chuckled. "That's exactly what it means. However, I do have conditions."

"Conditions? With a breakup?"

"Yes. I get to see Tatiana. I have fallen in love with the child and I refuse to not be able to see her." said Lavender.

Ron laughed, nodding. "Agreed. I can tell she likes you alot, and she would probably be upset with me if she didn't get to see you."

"Also, I would like to be kept in the loop if anything comes up about Parvati." said Lavender, sounding sad. "With both my parents gone, she's really all that I have left that truly knows me."

Lavender dabbed her eyes with a napkin. Ron put his hand over her other one. "I promise I will. I'll let you know everything. And you're not alone. You're still my friend. And you can stick around for as long as you like."

"Thanks, Won-Won. I appreciate that."


	18. Chapter 18: Returning To England

Chapter 18: Returning To England

 _December 20, 2005 9:17 AM New Delhi, India_

Hermione sat in the Patil's grand library, reading. The one and only thing she appreciated in the Krum estate was the huge library he had. Unfortunately, he would keep her out of if, but on rare occasions, she had managed to steal some of the books that were in there and keep them in her extendable bag that she had always had on her ever since the horcrux hunt.

She sat in the room reading a book that had Indian fables in it. Children's stories that she thought that Tatiana would very much enjoy.

She missed her daughter terribly. Her heart ached to hear her laugh, to see her smile, to smell her hair, to just hold her and never let go.

"Can I come in?" asked Harry as he peeked around the open door.

"Yes, of course, Harry." said Hermione as she moved her legs so Harry could sit.

"How are you feeling?" asked Harry.

"I feel fine. I just want to see my daughter. I have never been separated from her. Never. This is killing me, Harry." said Hermione as she closed the book she was reading.

Harry sighed. "I know. But what can we do right now?"

"We have to do something!" yelled Hermione, standing up. "My daughter needs me, and I need her. Besides, you have something that you need to do. You have to find that snake. And you have to tell everyone that you are alive."

Harry shook his head. "You know I can't tell anyone that."

"Yes the hell you can! They deserve to know! Especially Ron, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny!" yelled Hermione.

"You're one to talk about people deserving to know shit. You didn't tell Ron about his own daughter until a few days ago! Don't you think he should have known, oh I don't know, THE DAY SHE WAS BORN?!"

Hermione smacked Harry hard in the face. "Don't you dare even to attempt to compare what you did to what I did. Ron would have died trying to get to us! We already thought you were dead! You could have told them anytime Harry, and you chose not to for your own reasons! I didn't tell Ron because I didn't want to lose him along with you, who I thought I already had lost!"

Harry rubbed his cheek, the stinging making him see reason. "Now I know how Draco felt in third year." he said with a short chuckle. "You're absolutely right Hermione, and I'm sorry for saying that. I'm just scared about what Ron will say as well as do. And as for Ginny? She's another situation entirely."

Hermione sighed. She knew what was coming. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, sitting down again.

"I still love her, Herm. I never stopped loving her. And to hear she was with fucking Malfoy? Even though it was forced? I almost broke everything in Sirius's sitting room. I cried over that shit. I wanted to just say fuck it and try to kidnap her or something. She can't be happy with the git and his Death Eater father.

Hermione nervously bit her lip and played with a strand of her hair. "Actually, from the last letter I got from her a couple years ago, she seemed pretty happy with him. They have a son. He should be three now, if my math is correct. I haven't spoken to her since a month after she gave birth."

Harry's face fell. Even though he had no right to, he couldn't help but feel betrayed. He felt so angry inside that he wanted to hex something.

"I'm sorry Harry, I really am." said Hermione, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Harry nodded and moved her hand away.

"Don't be. Things happen, I guess. It'll be something I have to live with." said Harry.

Hermione got up and headed towards the door, sensing that Harry wanted to be alone. "I'll leave you to your thoughts then, okay?" she said as she went out the door, closing it gently.

She walked down into the kitchen, where Parvati was making some food.

"Where's Harry?" asked Parvati as she stirred something spicy but good smelling in a huge pot.

"He's in the library. I told him about Ginny, and he feels bad." said Hermione.

Parvati shrugged. "He was bound to find out sooner rather than later. He used to talk about Ginny a lot and wonder how she was doing. I used to try to encourage him to move on, but I don't think he is going to."

Hermione nodded. "Harry has always taken forever to move on from things. Especially if he feels it was his fault. So he will be on this for a long time."

"Well I hope that he can get out of his funk quickly. I received this via owl a few minutes ago." said Parvati, handing Hermione a letter.

 _Hi Sis,_

 _I've just received a curious letter from Ron Weasley, asking about you and Hermione. Apparently you were mentioned in a conversation that he had with someone, and he has it in his mind to search for Hermione, as well as you._

 _I had written him, trying to get him off the subject, but he isn't budging. Matter of fact, the last letter I got from him was a Howler and he said some not so kind words in it. I didn't tell him where you were, but I did tell him that you and Hermione were safe and that I am a secret keeper which meant that I had to keep my mouth shut. He seemed to accept that answer, however, he is not accepting that the both of you aren't here._

 _I have a way to get you into England, but it will have to be tonight. I have a sensory charm on this letter indicating that you have it. Please be at the Tunnel Of Light at 8:30 tonight. There will be a guide there waiting for you and Hermione, and he will make sure you travel the tunnel safely and end up with me and Dad. We will go on from there._

 _Looking forward to seeing you,_

 _Padma_

Hermione's hands started shaking. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Mother did charms on it and no one can copy Padma's complicated magical signature. It's true. We have to leave tonight, it'll be our only chance." said Parvati.

"What's the Tunnel Of Light?" asked Hermione.

"The Tunnel of Light is a magical tunnel that linked wizarding communities during the First Wizarding War." explained Parvati. "It was a secret and safe passage for refugees to flee from England to all over when the war got to be too much. My father used to ferry people through it along with other members of the Order. Its the tunnel Harry and I used to get here the first time we arrived."

"So, should we do it?" asked Hermione.

"We should. And we are. Mother already said it. We need to get Harry and get things ready."

* * *

 _The Burrow, Devon, England. 11:13 PM_

While all the children were at Shell Cottage with Fleur, Angelina, Alicia Spinnet (George's fiance) and Molly, the Weasley men along with Draco, Lee, and Blaise sat around the kitchen table at the Burrow. They had triumphed over the fact that Padma had told Ron that both Parvati and Hermione was okay, however, they still had to plan exactly what to do about the matter of what Voldemort wanted Tatiana for.

"How's your father, Draco?" asked Bill.

"Still moaning and groaning." said Draco. "Zabini and I don't even tend to him anymore, we allow the house elves to do it."

"What does your mother think of it all?" asked Fred.

"She doesn't care what happens to him. Once I told her that Father was still a Death Eater, she didn't want to hear anything else."

"Well at least we won't have to worry about that." said Fred. "I would have thought your mum would be put out over Ronniekins almost killing the man."

Ron shook his head. "Can we not bring that up?"

Bill agreed. "Exactly. We have more important things to talk about. Like how we are going to deal with this You Know Who situation. Eventually he is going to start looking here as well as at Ron for my niece. To be honest, I am very surprised he hadn't busted in the door days ago.

"Maybe the git doesn't know she's missing." suggested George. "Maybe Krum knows that telling his leader that he lost his apparent weapon means death."

"Sounds plausible." said Bill. "That would explain why there hasn't been any uproar."

"I still want Krum." said Ron, angrily. "He is not going to get away with what he did to Hermione. He and whoever else that touched her."

"You know we aren't going to let them get away with that Ron." said Fred. "But we can't just barge into the prat's home demanding a duel. We have to plan this shit out."

"Ims sick of planning everything!" yelled Ron. "This bloody bastard and his Death Eater scum cronies beat and violated the mother of my child! My best friend! I'm not going to sit here and keep on discussing shit when they could very well be trying to hunt down her as well as Tatiana!"

Draco shook his head. " You bloody Gryffindors are so fucking impulsive. Always ready to just run into bullshit and risk your lives without thinking shit through."

"Oh so I guess you would sit idly by if someone was out to get your pregnant wife and your son?!"

Draco opened his mouth and then quickly shut it. "You've made your point. Touche, Weasley."

"Ronnie please. Listen to me. We can't rush into this. If something happens to you, what is your daughter going to do? We don't know where her mother is. She is going to need you." pleaded Bill. "Just listen to reason and stop basing decisions on your feelings for Hermione."

Ron sighed. He knew his brother was right. "Fine." he said, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms. "We will do it your way. For now."

A loud knock came from the front door. "Who the fuck is that?!" asked Fred. "No one hardly uses the door here."

"Wands out, men."said Bill as seven wands were whipped out of wand pockets in a flash.

The knock came again, louder and more desperate sounding. They could hear muffled arguing outside. It sounded like a woman and a man.

Fred and George approached the door slowly, each standing on either side of it, while Bill walked towards the door, covered by Draco, Ron, Lee, and Blaise.

"We got your back, mate." said Lee to Bill as he grabbed the handle of the door.

"State your name." he said loudly and sternly.

"Its Parvati Patil! Please let-"

Ron pushed Bill out of the way and ripped open the door. Everyone in the room gasped as a frantic and cut up Parvati ran in, followed by a blood soaked Harry holding and even more blood soaked and passed out Hermione in his arms.


	19. Chapter 19: Reunited

Chapter 19: Reunited

"Har...Harry?" stuttered Bill as he looked at The Boy That Was Supposed To Be Dead.

"NO TIME!" screamed Harry. "YOU NEED WARDS UP FAST! AND HERMIONE NEEDS HELP!"

"Harry? What in the-"

"Please!" spoke up Parvati. "We need to floo to Grimmauld Place! Now!"

"But Grim-"

"NOW!" yelled Parvati and Harry in unison.

The group acted quickly. Bill, with the help up Blaise and Lee, threw up as many protective wards as they could around the Burrow, while the rest of them quickly flooed two by two to Grimmauld Place.

"KREACHER! MEDICAL SUPPLIES QUICK!" yelled Harry as soon as he got out of the grate with Hermione. The old house elf acted quickly, popping away.

Harry swiftly but gently carried Hermione up the stairs, followed by a confused Ron and Draco, whom were arguing with Parvati over what was going on. When he reached the bedroom that Parvati was using while she stayed there with him, Harry placed Hermione on one of the beds.

"Parvati, go and get a basin and fill it with some warm water. Get a rag so we can get this blood off her, please!" said Harry, panicking.

Parvati rushed out to do what she was told, leaving Draco and Ron in the room with Harry and Hermione.

"Harry..." said Ron. "How-"

"There isn't any time to answer anything right now, Ron!" interrupted Harry. "She was hit with Sectumsempra, and I need to-"

"Shit, Potter why didn't you say anything?!" yelled Draco as he pushed Harry away from Hermione. "I was taught the bloody counter spell, I can heal her!"

Draco ripped Hermione's shirt open, revealing deep and long gashes, as if she had been sliced by a sword multiple times. He then quickly took out his wand and waved it in small, slow circles and repeated the same incantation over and over. Slowly, the gashes stopped bleeding.

Kreacher had popped into the room with potions and gauze. "Any chance you have Dittany on you?" asked Draco.

Kreacher handed him a small bottle. Draco took off the top and let a few drops drip onto the wounds, somewhat sealing them. Parvati came into the room with everything Harry had asked for. She and Draco cleaned off the blood that had dried on Hermione's body. He then took a roll of gauze and gently wrapped it around Hermione's torso and back.

"There. She should be okay." said Draco. "Parvati, as soon as she wakes up, have her drink some of that blood replenishing potion Kreacher has on the nightstand. She is going to need it."

Parvati nodded as she wiped Hermione's face.

Draco turned and eyed Harry as if he was the plague. "You...we all need to talk."

"I don't have to explain anything to you." growled Harry.

"But you do have to explain to me." said Ron, viciously as he took Harry by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

Harry sighed as he had the others follow him into Sirius's bedroom. As soon as he closed the door, Ron blew up.

"WHAT IN THE FUCK HAPPENED TO HERMIONE?!" boomed Ron. "AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"Apparently not..." mumbled Draco as he leaned against the wall.

"Look Ron, I'll explain about me later." said Harry. "Right now, we have bigger problems on our hands. They know we are here."

"Who knows?"

"Riddle. Don't say his name. It's taboo again." said Harry.

"Fuck, Potter why didn't you say shit?!" yelled Draco. "Let me tell the others before we're all fucked. Dammit, you're still fucking useless!" Draco ran out the door to warn the house.

"Nice to see things haven't changed completely." said Harry, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah he's still a bloody git, who cares? What happened to Hermione?!" asked Ron impatiently.

"Right. Sorry. Well, we had gotten word from Padma about traveling to England through the Tunnel Of Light. We had a guide, a friend of Parvati's dad, to help us get from where we were to here. For a couple of hours, things seemed fine. But when we got to the border of England, the guide was speaking and he said Riddle's name. We were instantly ambushed by at least 10 Death Eaters. Parvati got a bit roughed up, as did I, but I think that their sole aim was for Hermione. One of them hit her with a Sectumsempra. Then they tried to use a killing curse on Parvati, but her mum stepped in the way of it, causing it to hit her instead. We managed to kill the other ones, but we think one got away and probably reported back to Riddle. We got to the Burrow as quickly as we could. Had to apparate, which was risky, seeing as Hermione was in a right state."

Harry then went on to tell his story. Ron didn't know what to think. He didn't know how to feel. In a matter of minutes, he had seen the mother of his child sliced and bleeding, and had also been reunited with his best mate whom he thought to be dead. As he listened to Harry go into detail over him not dying and what had been going on with him for the past seven years, he didn't know if he wanted to be angry with him, or happy that he was indeed alive.

"I'm so sorry, mate."said Harry when he was done with explaining. "I should have said something. I should have came by, but-"

"You're right. You should have. Why didn't you?" asked Ron.

"By the time I got back here, things had changed. Ginny was married off to that wanker, and I didn't know how to come back to that. That and I was focusing on finding that bloody python, which I've probably fucked that up too coming back. Riddle probably sent her halfway across the world by now."

"I would have helped you, you know." said Ron.

"If I knew about what had happened to Hermione, I would have revealed myself then. But I didn't know until years later, mate." said Harry, feeling terrible.

Draco came back inside the room. "Told everyone. They floo called over to the ladies and let them know not to return to the Burrow, and I practically had to beg Ginny not to come. She's worried about Granger."

"Ginny..." mumbled Harry, not realizing that Draco heard him.

"Yes. Ginevra Malfoy, my wife in case you didn't know Potter." snapped Draco.

"I heard of that horrible situation for her, Malfoy." sneered Harry.

"Good. Then you'll know not to try anything barmy with my wife." said Draco, clenching his fists. Ron sat on the bed, eager to see how this would play out.

"Stay away from her? Like hell! She's my friend!" yelled Harry.

"I don't give a fuck. Be her friend for all I care. That's all it will be." said Draco.

"It'll be what Ginny wants it to be."

"Which is nothing because she is over you, Potter. Been over you for years actually. I'm her husband. I'm the one she loves. The ones she has a son with and is currently pregnant now!"

Harry scoffed. "Loves? Right. How could she love someone she was forced to be with? Ginny knows who really cares for her. She's always been mine!"

"So you truly believe you can waltz your high and mighty ass back from the dead and expect for my wife to fall back into your arms? Laughable. I would even go as far as allowing you the chance, just so you can end up with egg on your face!" yelled Draco, leaving and slamming the door.

Harry stared at the door, rage building behind his emerald eyes. "Fucking son of a bitch!"

Ron decided not to say anything about it. He had much more important things to worry about. "I'm gonna go check on Hermione." he said as he left the room.

* * *

Ron peeked into the room that Hermione and Parvati were in. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Parvati smiled warmly at him. "Sure Ron. She just drifted back to sleep. She only managed to stay up long enough to drink some potion. She's somewhat delirious."

Ron pulled up a chair beside Parvati and stared at Hermione's face. Minus some cuts, she was still just as beautiful as the day he had last seen her. Her body looked a bit thinner however, making Ron feel uneasy. She looked like she did during the horcrux hunt. Fragile and venerable. Two things Hermione was not.

He lightly brushed his finger against her cheek. Still as soft as he remembered. He felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach, a feeling he hadn't felt since Bill's wedding, when he saw her dressed up coming from his house. He wanted to scoop her up and hold her until his arms fell off.

"How does it feel to see her again?" asked Parvati as she watched Ron twirl a strand of Hermione's hair around his finger.

"Like Christmas came early." whispered Ron.

Parvati smiled. "She is the strongest witch I've ever met. She went through so much and still stayed strong for her daughter, even when she felt like she couldn't go on."

Ron chuckled. "That's my girl." he said. "I just wish that I could have been there for the both of them. I wish I would have known something."

Parvati nodded. "You were there for her in spirit, Ron. You were always on her mind, she would talk about you all the time to Tatiana, and would whisper your name in her sleep. You may not have been physically there, but you were there."

"It's not the same though, Parvati. If I would have gotten to Krum, I would have killed him. Hell, now that I know what happened, I still want to kill him. All of them."

"Hermione wouldn't want to you become a murderer." said Parvati.

"I killed during the war."

"That's not the same. You had no choice."

"Well if it comes down to that situation again, I'll have no choice but to do it then, will I?" questioned Ron stubbornly.

Parvati shook her head. "You and Harry truly are best mates. Always looking for loopholes to justify your bullshit."

Ron sighed. "I'm angry with him, but I'm also happy to see him. It feels like he betrayed us though. He should have said something."

"I felt the same way. When I saw him, I hexed him a couple times, actually. It took me a day or so to forgive him for playing dead. With you and Hermione being best friends, I know it will take you two longer. Hermione hasn't forgiven him. But she has accepted him. And if you care about your friend, you will too."

"I'll be able to forgive him quicker than Ginny will." laughed Ron. "I see a Bat-Bogey hex in his future. She may save it until after the baby is born though."

"She's pregnant again? How is Harry taking it?"

"He and Malfoy got into it. Harry is going to have to move on. I don't have the heart to tell him, and he was too stubborn to listen to Malfoy. He's gonna have to see about it himself." said Ron as he kissed Hermione's cheek and got up.

Parvati nodded. "I'm sure with time, he will. Once he gets everything sorted out."

"I'm going to to go check on Tatiana. I still don't know how to tell her."

"I wouldn't yet." said Parvati. "She doesn't need to see her mum like this. She has seen her beaten before, but this is really bad."

Ron ran his hand swiftly through his hair, trying hard not to get frustrated. He thought about saying something, but quickly stopped himself, and rushed out the door.

* * *

Hermione once again woke up to the sound of Parvati's gentle coaxing. She looked weakly at her friend, who was once again smiling at her as if she was five. It annoyed and amused her at the same time.

"Ah, you're waking up.' said Parvati, picking up the potion bottle.

Hermione groaned weakly. "Do I have to take that horrid concoction again?"

"I'm afraid so." said Parvati. "Along with this one for pain. I wish I could give you the strengthening one like last time, but your injuries wouldn't be able to handle it. So you'll have to heal the old fashioned way."

Hermione drank both potions with the help of Parvati, almost gagging at the tastes. "I tried to imagine they were butterbeers. It didn't work." she whispered. "Where am I?"

"We are in Grimmauld Place. We made it, Hermione." said Parvati, happily.

Hermione managed a smile. "Where is Harry? And your mum?"

Parvati's smile disappeared. "Mum got hit by a killing curse. She didn't make it." said Parvati, her voice cracking.

Hermione let out a gasp. "Par...I'm so sorry." she whispered.

Parvati wiped a tear that had made it out of her eye. "She died defending me. Something she always said she would do. She would say during the war that if ever she died defending her girls, she would die a happy mother. Our guide managed to get her to my dad's."

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"Well you were hurt, and Harry needed me more. I'll go and see my dad and sister soon." said Parvati as she wiped another tear away.

Hermione tried to sit up, but suddenly she felt intense pain in her chest. She cried out loudly, the pain almost on the level of the cruciatus curse.

"Hermione no!" yelled Parvati as she tried to fan Hermione frantically. "Oh shit, hold on, you tore!"

She grabbed the Dittany off the night at and and put a couple drops over the gauze, sealing the wounds once more. Hermione started to calm down.

"You got hit with Sectumsempra, Herm." said Parvati. "You have to take it easy for a couple days, okay? No sudden movements. Ron and I will-"

"Ron?" said Hermione suddenly. "Ron's here? Where is he? He doesn't have Tatiana with him, does he? Oh Parvati, she cannot see me like this!"

"Calm yourself hun, please. Tatiana is with her cousins at Shell Cottage. She is safe and she doesn't know what's going on. Ron went to check on her a couple hours ago." said Parvati soothingly.

As if on cue, a soft knock came at the door and it opened. Ron peeked his head in. "Hey Par? Mum sent some food over and-"

"Ron?" Hermione gasped as she lifted her head up to see him.

Upon hearing his name, Ron immediately walked in and over to Hermione. Their eyes met and it felt like in that instant, the seven years they were apart had never happened, and he found himself falling in love with her all over again.

Parvati got up and slowly backed away until she was out of the room, closing the door quietly after her. She didn't want to ruin the moment.

Ron sat down on the chair beside Hermione's bed. Hermione reached out to him, hand trembling. Ron grabbed it, and placed a loving kiss on the back of it, eyes still locked on hers.

"I wanna...I..." stuttered Ron breathlessly. His mind felt as if it had shut off, he had no clue what to say.

Hermione smiled, licked her finger on her other hand, and reached for Ron's face. "You've got dirt on your nose by the way. Did you know? Just there." she said as she took her finger and tried to wipe away the small bit of soot that was on the side of his nose.

Ron grinned widely as he rolled his eyes. "It's been seven years since we've seen each other, and the first thing you comment on is the dirt on my nose?" he said laughing.

Hermione laughed as much as her aching chest allowed her to. "I thought you ought to know. You wouldn't want to walk around with dirt on your nose like you did on the train first year, would you?"

"Maybe I wanted it to be there." said Ron, his face getting closer to Hermione's.

"So you like to walk around with your face dirty these days?"

"Are we really about to argue about my face being dirty, Mione?" laughed Ron.

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed happily at the mention of the name that only Ron called her. "Come here." she said as she put her hand on his chin and brought Ron's lips to hers.

It felt as if they hadn't skipped a beat. How they both missed the love and passion transferred to each other through their lips. Ron gently ran his fingers through her hair, while she lovingly caressed his cheek. The world around them was quickly forgotten. It felt like old times when they were at the Burrow, just the two of them, enjoying each other's company.

That lasted until Hermione felt a sharp pain in her chest, causing her to wince and break the kiss.

"Oh shit!" said Ron, panicking. "Bloody hell, I hurt you! Are you okay? I didn't tear anything did I?!"

Hermione smiled at Ron and shook her head. "I see your language hasn't improved, Ronald Weasley." she said.

Ron calmed down quickly and glared at her jokingly. "Merlin I missed you, and your incessant nagging to try to change me."

Hermione smiled as she reached up and ran her fingers through Ron's hair, enjoying the fact that it still felt thick and silky, just like she remembered. "I missed you too."


	20. Chapter 20: A Strong Bond

Chapter 20: A Strong Bond

Draco fell onto his bed, exhausted. He had figured a nice hot shower would rejuvenate his body and brain, and while it did soothe the tension in his back, it didn't do anything to quell his troubled mind.

Fucking Potter. The Boy Who Just Won't Go The Fuck Away. Why the hell did he have to show his face again? And of all the times to do it, with Ginny being pregnant and all.

Draco closed his eyes and thought about his wonderful wife. Over the years he had really grown to realize that he more than likely wouldn't have wanted to be married to anyone else but Ginny. She was his love, his best friend., the mother of his children. He had put Ginny on the highest of pedestals with no intention of letting her down.

He had remembered the time where she had told him that even though she had love for Potter, she was in love with him. Every day since, it wasn't a day that went by that they didn't tell each other that they loved one another, even when they were angry with each other. He was extremely confident that she would always be around.

But now that the git wasn't actually dead, he feared the worst. Anything could happen when you see a person. True emotions couldn't be helped.

Ginny came into the room and saw her husband sitting Indian style on the middle of his bed. She had a feeling she was in for a long conversation.

"How's Rai?" asked Draco, referring to their son, his eyes fixated on the mirror that was on the wall facing the bed.

"He's sleeping. His cousins wore him out today." said Ginny as she changed into her night clothes.

"I didn't mean to miss tucking him in."

"It's fine. He was actually sleep before we got here, so you didn't really miss anything." said Ginny as she climbed onto the bed. She scooted over best she could until she was in front of Draco. Her eyes met his and she could see the gray swirling madly, as if his eyes were brewing up a storm. He stared back at her, not knowing exactly what to say.

"A Knut for your thoughts?" asked Ginny, getting comfortable, spreading her legs so that Draco was sitting in between them facing her.

"How are you feeling?" asked Draco.

"Your little one is being a fantastic Beater right now, but I'm fine." said Ginny as she rubbed her belly.

Draco smirked. "No, how are you feeling?" he asked again, using a different tone.

Ginny sighed. "I don't know how to feel, Draco. I'm happy that Hermione is back safe even though she is hurt, and I'm glad that Parvati made it back."

"What about Potter?" asked Draco, staring into Ginny's eyes as he played with her fingers.

"What about him?"

"Don't give me that Gin. You know you have some kind of emotion with this."

"What do you want me to say, Draco? Yes, am extremely pissed off that Harry lied to us for so long. I could strangle him for what he put Ron, Hermione, and I through, as well as the rest of my family." said Ginny.

"Is there anything else?" asked Draco, half accusingly, half scared.

"Draco, what's going on? What are you thinking?"

"I just want to know before hand if I need to worry about anything with you and Potter." said Draco, taking his hand away from Ginny's.

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Completely."

"Draco, I love you."

"You love Potter too, remember?"

"Not in that way anymore, Drayke. And not even close to the level that I have for you. Don't do this, Draco. Don't make it seem like I'm going to all of a sudden be forced to choose between the two of you." said Ginny, gently caressing Draco's cheeks with her hands.

"Potter seems to think so." said Draco in a more timid voice. "He seems to think that you will rush back to him the moment you see his face."

"What do you think, Draco?" asked Ginny as she took Draco's hand in hers again.

"I don't know."

"Drayke? Be honest with me." pleaded Ginny.

Draco closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "I just don't want to lose you."

Ginny was taken aback. "Why in the world would you think that? I'm not going anywhere."

"That's only because you don't have a choice."

"Draco Malfoy, that's not fair!" said Ginny, frustrated. "I wouldn't go anywhere even if that bloody bastard killed over this very second. Why are you being like this? Why are you letting Harry come between what we have?"

Draco looked at Ginny. "I'm not. Well, I'm not trying to, but-"

"Did he say something to you? Is that what this is? Since when does Draco Malfoy listen to a word Harry Potter says?"

"Since it applies to someone that I actually have feelings for." said Draco, smirking.

Ginny smirked right back. "The Slytherin King has feelings. Could have fooled me."

"Oh shut up." said Draco, putting his arms around Ginny and pulling her in as close as her enormous belly would allow. Ginny rested her chin on Draco's shoulder, the familiar smell of his hair comforting her.

"Don't ever doubt me, Draco. Don't ever doubt what we have. What we have is stronger than anything Harry and I used to have."

Draco nodded, his doubt's disappearing as Ginny kissed his cheek and then his lips.

All of a sudden, he felt a small kick against his torso, causing Draco to look down at Ginny's moving belly.

"See?" laughed Ginny. "Even Lyra thinks you're being mental."

"You mean Archer. I keep telling you it's another boy."

"And I know that it's a girl, stubborn one."

Draco bent down and kissed Ginny's belly. "Boy or girl, it's mine. And so are you."

"How about you put your kisses a little lower?" said Ginny seductively.

"And have you go into early labor? I think not "

"Git."

* * *

Harry sat at the head of the table in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. He told his story for the third time as four pairs of eyes gazed at him in disbelief.

"Harry Potter, The Immortal. You truly are the Chosen One, mate." joked George.

"Hilarious." said Harry sarcastically.

"I would have never guessed it." said Fred. "Can I stab you right now? Would you really die?"

"What if we decapitated him?" laughed Lee. "Would he just grow another head and continue eating?"

Everyone laughed, including Harry.

"I didn't miss any of you, just so you know." said Harry, lifting up his glass to them.

"Oh you know you missed my handsome mug" said George, winking at Harry.

Bill chuckled, however, he was eager to get plans made and executed. "Where's Ronnie?" he asked.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Need you ask?"

"He's upstairs with our recovering bookworm" said George, pointing up toward the ceiling.

"He needs to be down here." said Bill.

"Damn Bill, can he live?" exclaimed Fred. "He hasn't seen his beloved in seven damn years and on top of that, she's messed up badly. He can't help but want to be around her when he isn't with his little one."

"Exactly." said George. "How would you feel if you hadn't seen Fleur that long, mate? Give them time, okay?"

Bill nodded. "For once, I can't help but agree with you boys. He does need to know what's going on however."

"I'm sure Wonder Boy here will let him in on it." said Lee, pointing to Harry.

"Right." said Bill. "Now Harry, where is the last place you heard Nagini was located?"

Harry closed his eyes, trying to think. "Last I heard she was here. But that was months ago. No telling where she is now."

"Well it's all the matter of listening out." said Lee. "Zabini and I can do that as they don't know we are affiliated with the Weasley's. You lot can't make any major moves until you know for sure. Well, Bill may be able to."

"Well, we need to find out soon, or-"

They heard footsteps coming from the hall. Ron showed up at the kitchen entrance, bouncing on his toes.

"Can someone go and relieve Parvati?" asked Ron. "She's tired, and I have to go to get Tatiana."

"You know Ron, I've been meaning to tell you, you're like an old family man now." said Fred, chuckling. "Should I be getting you a cane on your next birthday?"

"Says the bloke that will soon have two kids. Sod off." laughed Ron, throwing a ball of paper at his brother.

"I'll go, Ron. I need time to think anyways." said Harry.

"Thanks, mate. Hermione went back to sleep, but she should be getting up soon to take that blood replenishing potion." said Ron. He then walked off to the sitting room to floo over to Shell Cottage.

Harry grabbed two butterbeers out of the case that the twins had smuggled in and a bag of crisps. He walked up the stairs to Hermione and Parvati's room and went in.

Parvati was sitting in the chair beside Hermione's bed, writing quickly on a piece of parchment.

"Need a pick me up?" asked Harry, holding out the butterbeer and crisps after he warmed it for her.

Parvati nodded. "Thanks, Harry." she said as she took a swig of the frothy drink. "Haven't had one of these in so long."

Harry took a swig of his own drink, allowing the warmth to consume and soothe him. "Yeah. Really hitting the spot right now. How is she?"

"She's recovering well. Mad that she can only really go to the bathroom, but she should be able to do more in a couple days. Hopefully she will be able to see Tatiana by Christmas."

"That's great. She will love that." said Harry. "How are you holding up?"

Parvati sighed, looking at the piece of parchment she was writing on. "I was going to ask Lee to deliver this letter for me to Dad and Padma. I wanted to see if they were okay and what they were doing for Mum."

"Why don't you just go to be with them?" asked Harry.

"Hermione needs me."

"She has Ron now."

Parvati started to play with her long braid. "And I kinda felt like you needed me too."she said quietly.

Harry blushed. "I mean I do, and I appreciate you being here. But your family needs you more right now. I don't want to keep you away from them like I did these past couple of years. That was extremely selfish of me."

Parvati waved her hand dismissively. "It was for Hermione. And no one deserves to be constantly alone, especially you."

"Thanks." said Harry, leaning against the wall.

Parvati sat her drink and her butterbeer on the nightstand. She got up and walked over to Harry. She stood closely in front of him, tugging gently on the front of his shirt.

"I just wish things could be different." said Parvati looking Harry into his vivid greens.

Harry sighed as he rested his hands on Parvati's waist. "Par, you know that-"

" I know, I know, but Malfoy has made it clear to you hasn't he? Ginny is his wife after all, and even if their feelings weren't real, you still can't come between their marriage."

"When Riddle is finally defeated, his word won't be law anymore. She'll be free to do what she wants."

"And you think that she will just up and leave her husband and children for you? Harry, that's selfish." scolded Parvati.

"I would never ask her to leave her kids or anything like that. Look Par, I do still care about her. A lot. I care about you a lot too, but-"

Parvati cut off Harry's words by placing a soft kiss on his lips. "I can't wait around forever for you to figure out what you want, Harry. And sharing your heart with another woman hurts me. I didn't have sex with you just for a good time. You were my first, Harry."

"I know that, Parvati. You were my first too, so you have a part of me as well." said Harry, starting to feel awful as he could see Parvati's eyes glossing over with wetness.

"I don't want just a part of you, I want all of you. I deserve to be happy and so do you. But I can't keep shedding tears over you while you try to figure that out."

Parvati kissed Harry again, walked over and grabbed her letter, and then left the room. Harry took another swig of butterbeer to try to wash down the shame and hurt that he was causing her. It wasn't working.

He sat down in the chair that Parvati had previously occupied. He covered his face with his hands. He was stressed out, his head was spinning with thoughts of his and Parvati's situation.

A few weeks after Parvati had moved in with him, they started to connect more. They had started flirting, sometimes cuddling up, and just getting closer to each other. After a while, they had ended up having sex. More than once. At first, the two of them figured it was just something to do, but they knew deep inside it was more to it than that. The two of them had caught strong feelings for each other. However, Harry was still hung up on Ginny, a fact that Parvati knew full well, yet she continued to stick by him, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Harry would move on and give them a proper chance.

Harry had a lot of love for Parvati, but Ginny was always on his mind. He didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't shake away his past.

 _'Maybe one day_.' he thought. He only hoped that that one day wouldn't be too late.


	21. Chapter 21: Christmas Morning

Chapter 21: Christmas Morning

 _December 25, 2005, Ron Weasley's place_

"Daddy, Daddy, wake up! Santa came!" yelled Tatiana as she jumped up and down on Ron's bed, waking him from his wonderful slumber.

He sat up and grabbed the girl, pulling her down for a hug, holding her snugly. "Ah, my teddy has arrived. Now I can go back to sleep."

Tatiana squealed and laughed. "Daddy, let go! Santa came! Don't you want to see what he did?"

"I'd much rather sleep some more." said Ron, muffled by Tatiana's hair.

"Daddy!"

"Okay, okay. I'm getting up,little love." he said laughing, as he let go of Tatiana and sat up to stretch.

"Oh Daddy, wait til you see! Just wait, it's so pretty!" said Tatiana excitedly as she tugged on Ron's arm.

"Okay, let's go see then." said Ron as he got up and let Tatiana pull him into the sitting room.

The child was overjoyed because she had went to sleep with the room being as it always was, but she had woken up to a room that had lights strung this way and that, decorations hung up, and a beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Under it were presents galore.

Ron had stayed up late to prepare everything for the child to take in when she woke up. He didn't imagine that she had any good Christmases, despite knowing that Hermione probably did the best that she could, and he wanted their first Christmas morning together to be magical.

He sat down on the floor with her as she started to open presents. She had gotten a music box and hair bows from Bill and Fleur, a dragon's tooth necklace from Charlie, a big box of child friendly Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products from the twins, dolls and outfits from Draco and Ginny, a dress up chest from Lavender, filled with all kinds of make believe costumes, and her very own pink with a blue letter T Weasley sweater from Molly.

"Daddy, you got a letter jumper too!" said Tatiana as she handed Ron his usual maroon sweater his mum had made him.

"You're right. Your grandmum makes one for all the Weasley's every Christmas. Only she always forgets that I don't like this color." he said, putting the sweater on. "But Merlin, are they warm."

"I like being a Weasley, Daddy." said Tatiana, causing Ron to almost tear up.

"You do?"

"Yup. You get lovely hair, there is always someone to play with, everybody is nice, and we all love each other." said Tatiana, brushing one of the doll's hair.

Ron laughed. He loved having conversations with his six year old. She was extremely bright for her age, funny, and extremely sweet. Just like her mother. You would have never thought that she and Hermione had been through any heartache talking to her.

"I've got it." said Ron. "Let's get washed and then we will floo over to where the others are and have Christmas breakfast, how about that? We can wear our new jumpers and you can bring Momo and a doll with you, okay?"

Tatiana clapped with delight and rushed off to the bathroom. After Ron helped her shower and get dressed, he sent her off to play while he showered and got dressed. Ron managed a two decent ponytails in Tatiana's sandy red mane. No use in having a sister close to your age if you don't learn at least something about hair.

Once Tatiana was ready to go with Momo and her new doll christened Raina, the two of them got into Ron's fireplace. Since Ron's flat as well as Grimmauld Place were both under the fidelius charm, they could floo between the two places without being detected.

They passed through the green flames and came out in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place. It had changed a lot since Ron, Harry, and Hermione had spent time in it during the horcrux hunt. All the dark artifacts and elves heads had been removed by Harry and Parvati, as well as the portraits of the Black family members, including Sirius's mother. Ron had no clue how that pulled off that one.

Bill, Fleur, Fred, Angelina, and the kids were already there, so Tatiana dusted off her clothes and ran over to Victoire and Dominique, the three girls showing off their sweaters and dolls. Ron thought it would be a good time to get away, as Tatiana was heavily distracted.

He went upstairs to Parvati and Hermione's room and opened the door. Parvati had left the night before to be with her family, so Hermione was in there, sleeping alone.

Ron walked over and started kissing her cheek, trying to wake her. A few seconds later, Hermione started groaning and moving her head, trying to get away from the annoyance.

"If this isn't Ron, I'm going to be really upset." mumbled Hermione, eyes still closed.

"Good thing it's me then yeah?" whispered Ron in Hermione's ear, causing her to grin.

"It is a good thing. Good morning." said Hermione, lifting up and stretching a little.

Hermione had improved extremely well. She had stopped talking the blood replenishing potion days ago, and the slashes from the Sectumsempra weren't coming undone anymore. She still had a lot of pain, but it was nothing compared to days ago, and she could freely move around, though sometimes Ron and the others would still help her out, per Ron's worries and Molly's orders.

"Feel like coming downstairs for breakfast?" asked Ron.

"I don't know Ron." said Hermione, sadly. "I know it's Christmas and all, but I think I just want to be alone. I haven't had a good Christmas since sixth year, when I went on vacation with my parents."

"Exactly, which is why you should come downstairs and be with at least who is down there. It's only a couple people and they want to see you. And Ginny will be by any minute and she has been dying to see you."

"Ginny?" said Hermione with a little more enthusiasm. "Well, I guess. But just for a little while, okay?"

Ron helped Hermione out of bed and then was rushed out of the room as Hermione washed up and got dressed in a dress that Ginny had sent over. Hermione used to be a few sizes bigger than Ginny, but now she was about the same size. Well, she would have been if Ginny wasn't currently pregnant.

Ron took her hand had lead her down the stairs. "Okay, so I need for you to close your eyes before you go in here."

"Why?" asked Hermione, suspiciously.

"Just trust me, okay?" said Ron covering her face.

Hermione sighed and allowed this, letting Ron lead her into the sitting room.

* * *

"Ermione? BILL IT'S ERMIONE!" exclaimed Fleur, jumping up out of her seat. Hermione smiled under Ron's hand.

"Mummy?" said a familiar voice that made Hermione frantically move Ron's hand from her face.

"Tatiana? Oh my goodness!" said Hermione, kneeling down allowing Tatiana to crash into her, causing her a lot of pain, but she didn't care at all.

She hugged her daughter as close as she could without making the pain excruciating. She let the tears fall as Tatiana tried her best to put every inch of her small body onto her mother.

"Mummy missed you so much." whispered Hermione in Tatiana's ear.

"I missed you too." whispered Tatiana back, standing up to touch her mother's face.

"What are you doing, Tati?" asked Hermione.

"Making sure that you're real." laughed Tatiana.

"She's real, little love." said Ron, looking down at his girls finally together.

"Daddy! You said she would come and she's here!" said Tatiana, hugging Hermione's neck and looking up at her dad.

"Ermione, it's so good to see you!" said Fleur, walking over to her. Hermione stood up and hugged Fleur, with Tatiana attached to her leg.

"Ron didn't tell me you all were here!" said Hermione as Bill, Fred, and Angelina came and hugged her.

"Ol Ronniekins wanted to keep you all to himself, he did." said Fred, trying to mess up Hermione's hair.

"Not true. She needed time to recover." said Ron.

"Recover?" asked Angelina. "What happened that-"

"Not now Angie..."said Ron, nodding his head towards his daughter. He really didn't want Tatiana to know how hurt Hermione really was, and judging by the way Hermione was allowing her daughter be all over her, it looked like she didn't want her to know yet either. Angelina caught the hint, and quickly diverted her statement.

"Tati my love, can you stay here for just a second longer? I need to talk to Daddy really quick." said Hermione, looking down at the latched on girl.

"You're coming back right away, okay?" asked Tatiana with a worried look on her face.

"Yes darling, I am. It will only be a little bit, okay?"

"Okay Mummy. But come right back because I'll be waiting." said Tatiana, letting go of Hermione's leg.

Hermione walked out the door, holding Ron's hand and pulling him along.

"Mione, are you okay?" asked Ron. He almost fell back when Hermione tiptoed and crashed her lips into his, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thank you." she said. "Thank you so much."

Ron put his arms around Hermione, holding her as close as he could without hurting her. "Don't thank me for doing what I'm supposed to. She's mine too after all."

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about her sooner." said Hermione, tears pouring from her eyes.

"It's fine. I know why you didn't do it. I'm just happy I have you back. And I'm not letting you go anywhere ever again."

Hermione looked confused. "You still want me? Even after-"

"Wait, what are you talking about? You actually thought I wouldn't want you anymore?"

Hermione blushed in shame. "After what Viktor has done to me, and other Death Eaters, I thought-"

"Fuck Krum. And what do you mean other Death Eaters?"

"Nothing." said Hermione quickly. "Well, it isn't nothing. But it's nothing for now, okay? I don't want to think about it right now."

As much as Ron wanted Hermione to tell him what he already knew, he conceded. This wasn't the day to discuss her horrible past. "Okay. But tomorrow, we're gonna talk about it, okay?"

"Okay."

"And it doesn't matter what you tell me, I'll always want you." said Ron, missing Hermione on the nose.

"You say that now."

"Oh I mean it. And when you're all better, I wanna show you how much I want you." whispered zron seductively in Hermione's ear, causing her to giggle.

* * *

Throughout the morning, people kept coming. Harry eventually woke up and came downstairs. Both Angelina and Fleur slapped him and then hugged him. Molly dropped in with George, Alicia, Charlie, and Lee and cried all over both Harry and Hermione.

Molly, Angelina, Alicia, and Fleur started on the traditional Weasley Christmas breakfast while Ron, Hermione, and the others watched the kids. Little Freddy Jr had took to Hermione quickly, snuggling up in her arms and taking a nap.

"Feels weird holding a toddler again." said Hermione as she tenderly rubbed Freddy's arm.

"Mummy, you just held me." said Tatiana from Ron's lap.

"Yes, baby, but you're a big girl now. You're not that easy to hold anymore."

"Daddy holds me just fine." said Tatiana.

"That's because Daddy is bigger and taller than I am, dear." said Hermione.

Green flames erupted brightly from the fireplace to reveal Draco, Ginny, and Orion. Ginny took one look at Hermione and squealed, right along with Hermione, causing everyone on the room to have to cover their ears.

"OH MY GOSH GINNY!" said Hermione, hugging her best female friend.

"HERMIONE I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE HERE! LOOK AT YOU!"

"WELL LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE POSITIVELY GLOWING! YOU'RE GORGEOUS!"

"Oh please, I'm one of those muggle blimpy things." said Ginny, rubbing her belly.

"You look absolutely wonderful, Gin!"

"Our ears, if you please." joked Draco as he put Orion down to play with the others.

Hermione looked at Draco and smiled. She huggd him as if they had been best friends their whole lives. At first Draco was surprised, but he got over the initial shock and hugged her back.

"Ron told me what you did for me. Thank you." said Hermione.

Draco shrugged. "Ginny would have maimed me if I had let you die. That and no one else around knew what the hell they were doing."

"Whatever the reason, I appreciate it" said Hermione.

"Anytime, Gra...Hermione." said Draco. "Good to see you up and about."

Just then, Harry walked into the room. Everyone, including the children went silent as Ginny and Harry stared at each other.

Ron got up and pulled Hermione gently to the side. Draco grabbed Ginny's hand. Fred and George pulled out a bag of crisps out of nowhere, prepared for a show.

Harry stared at Ginny as if she were an illusion. Besides the obvious pregnancy, Ginny looked just as beautiful as the day he had last seen her. He felt his heart wanting to leap out of his chest.

Ginny felt nothing but anger and rage, but she remained as calm as she could. Especially since she also felt a feeling that she had only encountered one other time in her life.

"Draco...I think...I think my water just broke." mumbled Ginny.

Draco looked at Ginny, not knowing if he had heard her correctly. "What was that Gin? Did you just say-"

"I SAID MY WATER JUST FUCKING BROKE!


	22. Chapter 22: Special Delivery

The story will be wrapping up soon. There will be a couple more fluffy chapters before I get back to the dark stuff. Gotta get the love out of the way first. I'm glad so many people are enjoying this story and thanks for your wonderful reviews!

Anyways, back to the fic :)

* * *

Chapter 22: Special Delivery

 _December 25, 2005. 11:07 AM Malfoy Manor_

"I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE YOU POTTER! HOW THE FUCK DOES YOUR FUCKING FACE PUT MY WIFE INTO FUCKING LABOR?!"yelled Draco as he, Harry, and Ron stood outside of Ginny's other bedroom at Malfoy Manor while the Malfoy's private healer, Molly, and Narcissa was in the room with Ginny. She didn't want any other man in the room at the moment, and that included Draco.

"I DIDN'T THINK MY MUG INDUCED LABORS, YOU TOSSER!" yelled Harry back.

"SHE WASN'T DUE FOR ANOTHER WEEK, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO MY WIFE AND BABY, I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!"

"SHE'S MY FRIEND TOO YOU PRAT!"

"WELL I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!"

"Will you two please shut the fuck up?"said Ron. "Seriously, both you wankers are giving me a headache!"

Draco and Harry huffed and sat down on either side of Ron, irritated to no end.

The door opened, letting Ginny's screams of pain come through. They had put a silencing charm on the room.

"Draco darling, Ginny needs you. The baby is coming." said Narcissa as calmly as she could. Draco quickly ran into the room, slamming the door after him.

Harry and Ron sat in silence for awhile. "I should go back." said Harry after a while.

"Stay, mate." said Ron. "I don't want to be here by myself in this house."

"Then come back with me!"

"And have Mum and Hermione bite my head off for leaving my pregnant sister? Are you mental?" said Ron, looking at his friend like he had lost his mind.

"Fine. I'll stay with you." said Harry, sitting down on the bench beside Ron.

"You should move on, you know." said Ron.

"Since when do you take Malfoy's side?!" exclaimed Harry, infuriated by Ron's words.

"I'm not taking his side, I'm taking Ginny's. You have been gone for seven damn years mate. Her and Malfoy actually have a good marriage where the two of them really do love each other. She wasn't made to have his kids, she chose to. Hate to say it, but they are almost on the level of Mum and Dad."

"Where is your dad anyways?" asked Harry. "I've yet to see him."

Ron took in a deep breath and blew it out. "He died about three months ago, mate. That muggle disease called cancer."

"Ron...I didn't-"

"It's fine mate. How would you know? It still hurts, but at least he isn't sick anymore, you know?" said Ron, trying to be optimistic.

Harry patted Ron on the back. "I've missed a lot, haven't I?"

"You have mate. And if you keep on living in the past, you're going to miss out on even more." said Ron.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry.

"Hermione overheard you and Parvati the other day."

Harry's heart dropped at the mention of Parvati. "Fuck, did she really? I felt she wasn't sleeping."

"Yeah. She said it sounded like you two really cared about each other. So if you fancy her, why are you still on my sister?"

"I've always loved Ginny. I can't just forget about her like that. Could you forget Hermione like that?"

"Hermione and I are different. She may be married, but he's a son of a bitch that she never ever had love for, and plus we have a child together." said Ron defensively.

"Okay, so what if her situation was like how you said Gin's is? Would you stand for it? You wouldn't fight for her?" said Harry, getting loud.

"Not if that wasn't what she wanted. I love Hermione with everything inside of me, but if she just wanted to be my friend, I'd have no choice but to respect that. I'd rather have her as a friend than to not have her at all."

Harry smirked at his best friend. "Since when have you started saying things that make sense?"

Ron laughed. "I've always have, mate. You just never listened."

Harry sighed deeply. "They really do love each other, don't they?"

"As mental as a Malfoy and a Weasley willingly together sounds, yes. They really do." said Ron, giving Harry a pity but comforting pat on the back.

* * *

The two continued to sit and catch up on the things Harry had missed, the stuff that Harry had been doing in more detail, and even him and Parvati's strange relationship for what seemed like hours before Molly opened the door smiling from ear to ear.

"Ronnie dear, come and meet your new niece." she said proudly.

Ron jumped up, ecstatic."I knew it!" he said running into the room. Harry hugged Molly quickly and told her he would floo over and tell the others the good news. Molly and Narcissa left to catch a breath and have some tea.

Ron ran up and kissed an exhausted looking Ginny on the forehead. "You look a sight." he said jokingly.

"Oh shut up and meet your niece. That is, if Draco would give her up. He's been hogging her for the past hour." said Ginny, pointing over to Draco.

"I have not, your ass fell asleep after feeding her." said Draco, standing up to pass a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket.

"Merlin, she's gorgeous." said Ron as he looked at the gray eyed, rosy cheeked baby girl. He lifted up her bonnet to find almost pinkish hair. "Oh that's wicked, she has pink hair!"

"Yeah, I'm hoping that fades to blonde." said Draco.

"Or darkens to red. But more than likely it'll blend a bit." said Ginny.

"Whats her name?" asked Ron as he kissed her forehead.

"Lyra Armoire Malfoy." said Ginny.

"A gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl." cooed Ron to the bright eyed jewel looking up at him. "Though I wished you would have been the one to get your mother's eyes this time, yeah?"

"As your red hair is signature, my eyes are signature, Weasley." said Draco, holding out his hands for the baby.

"It's my turn Drayke! I'm the one who just pushed her out of my vagina.", said Ginny, reaching for Lyra.

"Okay, I didn't need to ever hear that." said Ron as he passed Lyra to Ginny.

"It's time for her wellness check Mrs. Malfoy." said the healer who was still in the room. Ginny handed the baby to her. "Mr. Malfoy can attend to it, if he would like to."

"Sure." said Draco. He kissed Ginny quickly on the lips and left with Lyra and the healer, leaving Ron and Ginny alone.

"I'm proud of you sis." said Ron, pushing back Ginny's hair. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks, Ron. I'm just embarrassed on how everything went. My water breaking in front of everybody because of a blast from my past." said Ginny, rolling her eyes at the event.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" asked Ron.

"How did you feel when you saw Harry? He was supposed to be dead. It was like seeing a ghost, even though I knew days in advance that he was indeed alive."

"You know he is still hung up on you?" asked Ron.

Ginny looked stunned. "Are you serious? Did he say something? So that's why Draco was acting the way he was the other night. All worried about me leaving him for Harry."

"As if you could."

"As if I wanted to." corrected Ginny. "Harry and I had our time. I love Draco, I love our children, and the only thing I want to change is that noseless prick to be blown up so all of us can live our lives freely. Harry is just going to have to get over it."

"I think after today, he will." said Ron. "And it isn't like he will be alone. If he plays his cards right, he will still have Parvati."

"That reminds me, how is ol Lav Lav taking all this, you heartbreaker?" joked Ginny, giving her brother a playful push.

Ron groaned. "We were never anything official, Gin. However, we discussed it when before Hermione arrived and she took knowing that I will always feel for only her surprisingly well."

"Of course she did. She already knew. No woman can compete with the brightest witch of her age when it comes to Ron Weasley." said Ginny as she laughed at Ron's reddening ears.

* * *

Tatiana snuggled up close to her mother as Hermione sat in the comfy chair at Ron's flat, reading her a book. Since she was moving a lot better, and also from the insistence of her daughter, she had came over to his flat to stay the night. Ron had went back over to Grimmauld Place for a while to try to make a Christmas for Harry, and even though she would have usually participated, she really just wanted to spend some much needed bonding time with Tatiana.

Hermione couldn't help but be impressed with everything Ron was doing for himself as well as for Tatiana. She beamed at her daughter as Tatiana pulled her along the flat, showing her her bedroom, her toys and clothes, the bathroom, Ron's room, the kitchen, the sitting room, and even the small balcony that Ron had but hardly ever went on.

Hermione had to hold back the tears of joy she wanted to shed. She had felt horrible ever since the day she sent Tatiana in the floo without 100% knowing if she would reach the Burrow or not. It was a constant worry on her mind. However, she was very much grateful that Ron had stepped up quickly and been there for the child. Not that she doubted him or anything. Ron had always had a good heart, but she had half expected Tatiana to be in the Burrow, and not actually staying with Ron with her own room and everything. He had willingly stopped his life just for her.

"Mummy?" asked Tatiana, sleepily.

"Yes, my love?"

"Where's Auntie Ari? Is she okay?"

Hermione's heart dropped. She didn't expect Tatiana to ask so quickly about her godmother, but she knew she couldn't lie.

"Remember when I told you that sometimes bad things happen to good people, things we can't control, but they will always be with you?"

"Oh." said Tatiana in a solemn voice. "Will I ever see her again?"

"One day, Tati. Hopefully not anytime soon, but one day." said Hermione feeling terrible.

"Mummy?"

"Yes?"

"We don't have to go back to Sofia and see Father Krum, do we?"

Hermione quickly shook her head. "Never. We never ever have to go back there, and you don't have to call him Father Krum anymore. You will never see that horrid man ever again." said Hermione triumphantly.

Tatiana smiled widely at her mother. You could see the relief on her big brown eyes. "That makes me feel a gazillion times better!"

"A gazillion? Where did you learn such a big number?"

"From Cousin Victoire. I have a lot of cousins. Cousin Victoire, Dominique, Cousin Freddy, Cousin Orion, and Aunt Ginny is going to have a baby too Mummy! Daddy says she is going to blow up any day now."

Hermione laughed loudly at that. "Your Daddy is insufferable. But Aunt Ginny had her baby today actually."

"She did? Can I see it?" asked Tatiana enthusiastically.

"You'll have to wait. She's still new and new babies have to stay close to their Mummies." said Hermione, thinking back to when Tatiana was first born and the ordeal that was.

"Are you going to have another baby, Mummy?" asked Tatiana.

That threw Hermione off. "Me?"

"Yes, you silly Mummy. You are here with Daddy now, so now you can give him a kiss on the cheek and have a baby. I want a sister. Victoire says sisters are fun because you can boss them around."

Hermione felt like a weight had been placed on her chest. Not only did that remind her that in a few years, she would have to properly explain where babies came from, but that had also brought up an interesting question. Did Ron really want to be a family?

"I think that's another conversation saved for another day." said Hermione, not knowing what else to say.

Tatiana, being as stubborn as her mother, scrunched up her face, not accepting the answer. "I'm going to ask Daddy. He will tell me. Mummies and Daddies are supposed to get married and have a lot of babies. That's what Victoire says" she said, confidently.

Hermione was starting to feel uncomfortable, which was weird to her that she was actually made to feel uncomfortable by a six year old who was apparently too smart for her own good.

"I think it's bedtime for you, little one." said Hermione as she lifted Tatiana off of her lap.

Suddenly, she heard a loud pop coming from the kitchen, and a voice that sounded female. And familiar.

"Hey Won-Won! Sorry for popping over here so late, but I had discovered that the owl forgot..."

Hermione felt at if all the melanin in her skin had drained as she stared at the equally stunned face of Lavender Brown.


	23. Chapter 23: Moving On

Chapter 23: Moving On

The two women stared intently at each other, neither one know what to say to the other.

"Lavender!" said Tatiana happily as she ran over to the dumbstruck woman and latched onto her waist. "Father Christmas brought your present! It's lovely!

Lavender finally snapped out of her trance and looked down at the little girl, putting her hands on her shoulders. "I'm glad you like it, Princess. Father Christmas seemed to had forgotten the mirror that went with it though." she said, handing her a package.

Tatiana smiled sweetly at Lavender "Thank you! And look Lavender, my Mummy is here!" she said, pointing to Hermione proudly.

"Yes, I-I-I can see that." stammered Lavender. "Hello, Hermione."

"Lavender." said Hermione, wishing she had a wand at that very moment.

"Is your father around, dear?" asked Lavender, looking down at the oblivious six year old.

"No, he is with my uncles. Mummy was just going to take me to bed." said Tatiana, walking back over to Hermione.

"Oh. Well then, maybe I should just go."

"No no, stay." said Hermione, almost as if she was giving an order. "It seems a conversation is in order. We'll have tea."

Lavender wanted very much to apparate away as quickly as she could, however, she nodded and sat down while Hermione took Tatiana in her room and got her ready for bed.

About 15 minutes later, Hermione came back out of the room. She walked over to the kitchen and made some tea, found the Christmas biscuits that Ron and Tatiana had made the night before, and brought them and two cups over to the sitting room. She quietly poured her and Lavender a cup of tea, adding two spoonfuls of sugar and a drop of honey to hers and started sipping, keeping an extremely watchful eye on the blonde across from her who didn't make a move. The silence was almost deafening. You could cut the tension in the the room with a knife.

"So, it looks like my daughter really likes you." said Hermione, finally.

"Oh yes. She's an absolute delight." said Lavender, finally readying her cup of tea.

"Well, I appreciate you being nice to her."

"It isn't a hard thing to do. She's a brilliant little girl." said Lavender

"Did she shock you? When you met her?"

"Of course, naturally. I didn't know that Ron had a child. I never would have imagined him a father. Which by the way, he is wonderful at being." said Lavender, picking up a biscuit.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "He really is. I'm thankful that she finally has him in her life now." she said.

There was a short pause where the women again had nothing to say. Then Lavender decided that she would have to be the one to address the big pink hippogriff in the room.

"Look, Ron and I were never really anything." said Lavender. "I mean of course I still fancied him, and I wanted it to be, but we only really-"

"I don't think I want to hear what you only did." said Hermione. "And to be honest, I can't be upset about anything the two of you did. I wasn't around. Ron probably felt the need to move on."

"No Hermione, that's not it at all." said Lavender. "If anything, I selfishly took advantage of a situation that shouldn't have happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, about a few months ago, I saw Ron in this little pub in Diagon Alley. He was totally hammered, basically drinking his sorrows away. He had just lost his father a couple days prior, and he was going on about loss and losing him and losing you and he was all to pieces, so I had helped him back to his flat. I took advantage of him being so down and we shagged. And me, still being the clingy girl from sixth year, just stuck around, hoping he would get over you and move on to me."

"And did he?" asked Hermione.

"Not even a little bit. We didn't discuss that night and he didn't touch me again, no matter how much I tried to get him to. I just fooled myself, but at the time, I truly didn't care. And then, the little Princess showed up and I knew for a 100% fact that I had to throw in the towel. Not that I was mad or anything. Who could be mad at such a darling? Anyways, Ron and I talked about it, and I knew that whenever you returned, that would be it. I told him I was fine with that. He's always been yours. I just demanded visitation rights. I'm quite attached to the girl."

Hermione couldn't help but feel relieved. Although the thought of Lavender and Ron shagging made her stomach cringe, she couldn't help but feel special that Ron still cared very deeply for her.

"Thanks for being here for him at least. And thank you immensely for being there for my daughter and accepting her. I really do appreciate that. said Hermione, smiling.

"You're welcome." said Lavender, smiling in return. "And I'm glad that you're back safe.

The two started chatting like old friends until green flames appeared in the fireplace. Ron had made it home.

When Ron finished dusting off his shirt he looked up to find Hermione and Lavender smiling at him.

He looked like a dear caught in headlights, causing the two ladies to laugh.

"Hey Won-Won. Just came by to drop off what the owl left of the Princess's gift." said Lavender, amused at Ron's expression.

"Uhhh..."

"I'll come by another day. Great talking to you, Hermione." said Lavender sweetly as she waved.

"Great talking to you too, Lav. We must do this again." said Hermione, trying desperately not to laugh.

Lavender winked at her and then apparated away.

Ron looked from the spot Lavender was standing, then back to Hermione. "I missed something, didn't I?"

"Just a girl talk." said Hermione, innocently eating a biscuit.

"Should I be worried? What did she tell you?"

"Nothing bad, Ron. Just that you're a good man and a good father. And I couldn't ask for anything more."

Ron let out a sigh of relief as he sat down beside Hermione. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long, smooth black box with a red bow around it.

"With a the commotion this morning. I forgot to give you your Christmas present." said Ron, handing her the box.

"Oh Ron, you really shouldn't have." said Hermione.

"Open it." he said, shrugging as if it was nothing.

Hermione took off the bow and opened the box. The tears she had been holding in finally fell as she gazed upon the beautiful and polished wand in the box.

"Ron..." she gasped.

"Ol Ollivander is still alive and kicking." said Ron. "The twins tracked him down and I asked him to make a wand for you. 11 inches, cherry wood, with a phoenix feather core I believe the paper says. He said it was guaranteed to work for you. The phoenix feather stands for rebirth and renewal. Said that it would suit you very well.

Hermione picked up the wand and in an instant, she felt the power within her reawaken. Her hand trembled as the power surged through her body and into the wand, causing a small purple spark to come out of it. Hermione took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing her power to consume her and she felt complete.

"How does it feel?" asked Ron.

"Brilliant. Like the first time all over again." said Hermione in a quiet voice.

"Go ahead, try it out. Levitate that bear. Remember, it's levi-OOOOOOOO-sa, not levi-o-SAAAAAAA." teased Ron, causing Hermione to roll her eyes.

* * *

 _December 27th, 2005. 10:42 am Malfoy Manor_

Ginny sat in Lyra's new nursery, nursing the baby while Orion played on the floor. A smile crept upon her lips as she watched her son crash the muggle Hot Wheels cars he loved so much into each other.

Even with the evil going on, her life was truly amazing. Her husband was the greatest, her mother in law was wonderful, her family was closer, Hermione had returned, and she now had two beautiful and healthy children. She couldn't help but feel much older than 24. She felt as if sometimes she was as old as her mother.

A knock came onto the door and Orion ran and opened it. Orion looked up at the dark haired, green eyed man who was standing behind it.

"Who are you?" he asked, not even remotely intimidated.

"I'm Harry, who are you?"

"Orion."

Ginny was listening closely, almost amused. Orion was using what his father called his 'big man' voice.

"Nice to meet you, Orion." said Harry, holding out his hand to shake. Orion looked at the man suspiciously for a second, then reluctantly took Harry's hand and shook it.

"Is your mummy around?" asked Harry.

"She giving my sisser milk" said Orion, loudly, causing Ginny to grin.

"Can I speak to her?" asked Harry, chuckling.

Orion eyed Harry up and down. He had seen his father yell at this man before, so he knew that he didn't like him, but he didn't know if that meant he shouldn't either.

"No." he said promptly.

Ginny laughed. "Orion, let him in sweetie. He's okay."

Orion groaned. "Okay. Mummy said." he said as he opened the door wider.

Harry walked in trying to hold in his laugh. He figured laughing would offend the boy that looked extremely serious.

"Rai, why don't you go see if Tippy will let you bake something with her, okay?"

"Okay, Mummy, said Orion, giving Harry the best threatening look a three year old could give before going out the door.

"He's his father's son isn't he?" said Harry as he walked over to Ginny.

"Actually, he's more like me than him." said Ginny, pointing to the chair next to her. Harry sat down as Ginny unlatched the full baby girl from her breast.

"She's beautiful." said Harry, looking at Lyra.

"Thank you. I think she looks like her father more than she looks like me. But that's fine." said Ginny as she put Lyra on her shoulder and burped her.

Harry stared at the baby as she stared at him right back, gray eyes bright with wonder and innocence. Harry couldn't help but smile at her. He had to agree, she did resemble her father a lot more than her mother.

"Do you enjoy being a mum? asked Harry.

Ginny sighed a proud mother's sigh. "I love it. I actually see why Mum had seven of us. Of course I don't plan on having five more kids anytime soon, but I do understand now."

Harry nodded, still admiring Lyra on Ginny's shoulder.

"You have that look." said Ginny.

"What look?"

"That look that says that you wouldn't mind having one of these yourself." giggled Ginny.

Harry's eyes grew slightly big. "Not at this exact moment, what with Riddle on my ass and all. But someday."

"You wanna hold her?" asked Ginny, moving Lyra from her shoulder to her arms.

"Sure Malfoy won't come in and try to hex me?"

"I'll protect you." said Ginny with a grin as she handed Lyra to Harry.

Harry laughed softly as he gazed upon the precious baby in his arms. He couldn't help but find himself wrapped around Lyra's little pinky. He felt instantly bonded to her, something he had never experienced before.

"Wow. Babies look good on you Harry." said Ginny as she watched Lyra slowly drifted off to sleep. Harry handed her back to Ginny, blushing.

"I came by here to apologize. For everything. For not letting you know I was alive, and for the way I have been acting about you." said Harry, hesitantly.

"You should." said Ginny, as she got up and placed Lyra in her pram. "How could you, Harry? Everyone mourned for you along with Percy and Colin."

"I know. Hermione told me what you all went through. Especially you, with you not talking."

"I didn't have anything to say to anyone. I just didn't have the words. That was, until Draco came along." said Ginny, blushing. "We really do love each other, Harry. Probably more than the both of us realize."

Harry nodded. "I can tell. He almost took my head off twice. The Malfoy I knew doesn't fight for shit, so you must mean the world to him."

Ginny smiled. "Yeah, well, he's a big teddy once you get to know him."

"I probably owe him an apology as well." said Harry, face disgusted with the thought.

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "No you don't have to. Apologizing to me is enough. I'm glad that we can at least be friends."

Harry nodded, his feelings of regret leaving him, causing him to feel better about Ginny and their friendship. "

"So, I heard that you and Miss Patil had a moment." said Ginny, slyly.

Harry blushed, trying hard not to let the smile creeping at his lips show. "Damn, does everybody know?" he asked.

"You should talk to her. Be serious about your feelings."

"She will only think that I'm trying to be with her because you don't want me. And I don't want her to think that way."

"Is that the way it is?" asked Ginny.

"Absolutely not."

"Then she won't think that. Just be honest and sincere. She'll come around. Handsome bloke like you? You be shagging by sundown."

Harry threw a stuffed animal at Ginny, laughing. "I really missed you Gin."

"I know. I'd miss me too."


	24. Chapter 24: New Year's

Chapter 24: New Year's

 _December 31st, 2005 8:22 AM The Ministry Of Magic_

Voldemort sat behind his desk mind boggled as he sneered upon the two incompetent Death Eaters before him.

"You insolent fools!" he snapped. "You had one job Krum! One measly job! How the hell did you allow a Mudblood to escape under your very eyes?!"

Viktor bowed humbly on the floor, face riddled with fear. "My Lord, we had her under lock and key. She was in a room ladled with wards of the strongest kind. I haven't a clue how she got away."

"She took away my ultimate weapon. You useless peon! DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THAT CHILD IS TO EVERYTHING I HAVE BUILT UP?!"

"My Lord, if I may be of some comfort." said Dolohov nervously. "We have other Mudbloods that surely Krum can mate with that will give you-"

"FOOL!" yelled Voldemort, throwing a curse at Dolohov's face, instantly sealing his lips as if sewn together. "Did you really think that I chose that girl just because of Harry Potter and his band of heroes?! She is the most powerful Muggleborn since that bloody Lily Evans! And you must be as stupid as they come if you were to think that the child was yours, Krum. I knew when they were presented to me when the child was but a mere toddler that she was a fucking Weasley!"

Viktor looked positively stunned. Dolohov couldn't help but suppress a laugh.

"My Lord, I raped the Mudblood as soon as I got her to my estate." said Viktor.

"Clearly you know nothing about reproduction." said Voldemort as if he were talking to a child. "Her blood traitor lover obviously mated with her before we got there, you ignoramus."

Viktor stood up, taking a few steps back. For some odd reason, he found himself feeling completely baffled. Suddenly all that he had done and allowed to have done to Hermione didn't seem as if it was worth it.

"Where is Malfoy, that useless swine?" asked Voldemort.

"We haven't seen him in two weeks, sir."

"Really? And you're just now speaking of this? How unfortunate." said Voldemort in mock disappointment, turning hots back to look out the window." Times like this I wish my dear Bella were still alive. She was always able to get the job done. My most loyal and faithful servant."

He quickly turned around and drew out his wand. "CRUCIO!" he yelled, pointing the wand at Viktor and Dolohov.

The two men fell to the floor, their bodies writhing in the most excruciating pain imaginable. The very veins in their bodies cried out, the hairs on their heads seemed as if they were blades stabbing them in their skulls. Viktor felt as if his sanity was running away from the agony.

After what seemed like years, Voldemort lifted the curse off of them. Viktor laid completely still on the floor, whole Dolohov shook in the fetal position, mumbling like an idiot.

"You two are to go to their swallow of a home, retrieve that child, and kill anyone that stands in your way, do you understand?" said Voldemort in an eerie calm as he stepped over their bodies and left the room.

"Yes, My Lord." Viktor slowly pushed out of his lips.

Voldemort walked on until he ran into one of his lower ranking Death Eaters.

"Retrieve Nagini." he commanded. "Bring her back safely to me. It's time to end this."

* * *

 _December 31st, 2005 10:48 PM Ron Weasley's Flat_

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Parvati were bringing in the New Year together. Something the four of them hadn't done since 4th year, when Gryffindor had their New Year's Eve party.

They were sitting around Ron's telly, a present for him that Hermione had the twins smuggle in for her that Ron very much enjoyed. He said it made him feel closer to his father, as he and Arthur used to try to make one magically work when he was younger.

The night had been expectedly awkward. Hermione had to practically beg Parvati to come. She was still very much upset and confused about Harry, and didn't partially want to be around him.

Though Harry was extremely elated to have Parvati in his presence again, he had been holding back all night exactly what he wanted to say.

It was driving both Ron and Hermione bonkers to watch them tiptoe around each other. So Ron came up with the bright idea to sip on fire whiskey while reminiscing on Hogwarts days, after Tatiana was tucked into bed.

"Remember the Yule, Harry?" asked Ron, pouring Harry a shot, which he quickly downed.

"How could I forget?" laughed Harry. "Those hideous dress robes you had to wear?"

"Oi! You were such a damn bird worried about your hair moving out of place. So much for Potter products." smirked Ron.

"Hey! It worked on my hair perfectly. So it wasn't the product's fault." said Hermione, sipping on butterbeer instead. She took a swig, and then looked at it funny. "I know it's been awhile since I had this stuff, but man! Does it pack a kick now. Is this a new kind?"

"It really did." said Parvati. "Your hair was gorgeous, Hermione. And yes, it's new."

"Oh thank you Parvati. Yours was too as well as you and Padma's gowns."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you ladies looked amazing. Meanwhile I looked and smelled like an old couch." said Ron grumpily.

"And my hair looked like a fucked up rug." said Harry, rolling his eyes.

"It wasn't that bad, Harry." giggled Parvati.

"You're only saying that because next to me, you looked even more beautiful." said Harry, smiling and blushing, making Parvati feel flattered, but nervous, as well as also reminding her of something else that had happened that night.

"Oh you noticed?" asked Parvati, crossly. "I wouldn't have known. You had your eyes practically glued to Cho Chang that whole night."

Ron sat back slowly on the couch while Hermione tried to nonchalantly sip her butterbeer, both knowing that this probably wouldn't end well.

Harry sighed. "Not the whole night, Par. We danced together, remember?"

"Yeah. The first dance which was the one that the champions were required to dance. After that, you and Ron sat pouting like babies because you couldn't be with who you actually wanted to be with." sneered Parvati.

"Oi! Your sister didn't want to be there with me neither." said Ron.

"What made you think that I didn't want to be there with you? I did ask you, after all." said Harry.

"Hmm, let me think." said Parvati, getting a bit loud. "Maybe it was because you asked me AFTER Cho turned you down. Maybe its because you hardly paid any attention to me after the champion dance the whole night. Maybe it's because after said dance, you didn't speak to me for weeks! Admit it, Harry Potter, I was your last resort!"

"I was Ron's." said Hermione, raising her hand enthusiastically, as she was on the verge of being drunk. She didn't realize that Parvati as well as Harry had spiked her butterbeer just for fun.

"And it didn't stop at the dance, did it Harry? I've always been your bloody last resort. You couldn't get to Ginny, so you went for me because you wanted something to do. Or more like, someone to do." said Parvati, crossing her arms.

Harry stood up quickly, appalled. "Now wait just a minute Parvati! That is absolutely not true! You have never been a last resort. Ask Ron yourself,. My last resort was fucking Eloise Midgen. Shit I was almost on the brink of throwing away all my Gryffindor pride and asking Millicent Bulstrode!"

"Mate..." gasped Ron.

"But I didn't. I had seen that you didn't have a date and I figured that we got along well and you were a nice and fun person, so I would have fun with you. We would have fun with each other. I'll admit, I fucked that up by pining over Cho, and honestly I felt bad about it. And I know I'm 11 years too late, but I'm sorry for that whole night, I really am."

"And what about now?" asked Parvati, standing up as well. "You can't use that excuse now, can you?"

"Okay, Mione." said Ron pulling Hermione's arm. "I feel like they need to talk about this without us, yeah?"

"But Ron, I want to watch them make up!" whined Hermione, as if she were a toddler.

Ron laughed and scooped up Hermione into his arms. "Let's go, my drunk bookworm. I'll read you a story or something."

"Really?" asked Hermione, sounding like a child asking for candy.

"No." laughed Ron as he carried Hermione into his room and shut the door.

* * *

Harry shook his head and returned his focus to the onyx haired beauty that was standing in front of him. "Par, do you really think that me and you shagged for nothing?"

"What else can I think, Harry?" said Parvati. "Yes, we took each other's virginities, and yes we shagged quite a few times after that, but you also would hold yourself back from me. You didn't put your all into what we had like I tried to. You were too hung up on Ginny to have a real relationship with me. And now that you see that Ginny is happy with Draco, here you are. Coming back to me. Your last fucking resort. Your convenience."

Parvati sat down, put her face in her hands, and started to cry. She then started to get angry with herself. "I told myself that I wasn't going to shed another tear over you, Harry Potter. Now look what you did."

Harry knelt down in front of her, putting his arms around her. Her felt completely horrible and ashamed of himself. Was this really what he had done? How he had made her feel?

"Parvati, I'm so sorry." he began. "I never ever meant to hurt you, and never meant to make you feel like I didn't care about you. I do. I really do, and it wasn't because I couldn't be with Ginny. I was being stupid and selfish for hanging onto her like I did. When you came around and stayed with me, I didn't want to get into any type of emotions with you. I was glad to have a friend to talk to besides Kreacher. But despite what I felt for Ginny, I started feeling for you, and I didn't want to say anything or do anything about it. But when we both figured out we felt the same way about each other, we acted on it. I didn't do that because of a shag, I did that because of my feelings for you. And in reality, I didn't not get with you properly because of Ginny. Well, it was because of Ginny, but not in the way you thought."

"Really? And what way was that then?" asked Parvati in a voice that clearly stated that she wasn't buying what Harry was selling.

"I didn't because I figured that I would lose you too, just like I had Ginny. And I didn't want that. With me not telling people that I was alive, I had lost my two best friends, my girlfriend at the time, and a family that had took me in when I was 11. People that I was attached to. I didn't want to become attached and lose you too. And when you were at Krum's, I did in a way."

Parvati took her hands away from her face and looked at Harry, confused. "How? It was all fake to save Hermione."

"Well, you weren't around anymore. I didn't have you to talk to, to be with. The little times you would sneak off to plan shit with me were nothing. I never wanted you to go back, but that would have been selfish to Hermione and Tatiana. I missed you. I missed you a lot." said Harry, caressing Parvati's smooth cheek.

"Harry, don't do this to me." whispered Parvati, closing her eyes as she melted into his touch.

"I'm not trying to do anything to you but make things right." said Harry, coming closer to her face. "Can you at least give me the chance to do that? Please?"

Harry gently placed a kiss on Parvati's other cheek. Her face tingled as it seemed as if his lips had electricity throughout them. Parvati giggled as she tried to swat Harry away.

"Did I just get you to laugh?" teased Harry as hugged her close to him, nuzzling his nose into Parvati's neck. Parvati laughed harder as she tried to wiggle out of his hold.

Harry grinned as his nuzzles turned into kisses, cutting off Parvati's giggles immediately and causing her to suck in a breath. She let out a small moan as Harry started nibbling carefully on her sweet skin.

Harry moved his mouth from Parvati's neck to her lips. As soon as their lips connected they felt a strong bond form that they knew would never break, each realizing that they never wanted to kiss anyone else's lips again.

The kiss was desperate, loving, and strong, growing more intense as Parvati laid back on the sofa, pulling Harry on top of her. His right hand slid up her waist, while his right slid down her long plait, pulled off the rubber band that held it together, and quickly took the plait apart, running his fingers through her silky, pitch black strands.

Parvati spread her legs open for Harry to rest his body in between as Harry took to kissing at her exposed chest. He could feel her heart beating against his lips, picking up speed a bit as he ran his hand up Parvati's shirt.

They were so into each other, that they completely missed hearing a door creak open and tiptoeing footsteps step across the room.

"RON! I TOLD YOU THEY WERE GOING TO SHAG!" yelled Hermione gleefully as she bounced on her heels, causing Harry and Parvati to almost fall off the small sofa.

"Oi! I haven't even bloody shagged on my shit! No way are you two going to be having a go on it!" shouted Ron, amused by Harry's deer caught in headlights face and Parvati's laughter.

"Oh I'm so happy you two worked it out!" said Hermione, clapping. "Now, you can settle down and get married and have a ton of babies!"

Harry climbed off of Parvati, looking slightly cross but mostly humored.

"Consider this payback for all the times you cockblocked us, Harry." said Ron, patting Harry on the back.

"What do you mean? When have I ever cockblocked you?" asked Harry, sounding bitter.

"Many times, Potter. Many times. This also being one of them as it was probably you that spiked Hermione's drink." said Ron, giving Harry a knowing look as Harry busted out laughing.

"Ronald Weasley, I am not drunk!" exclaimed Hermione as she plopped down in an armchair."I only had one butterbeer and that couldn't even make a twelve year old drunk."

"You're pissed, love." said Ron as he handed Hermione a glass of water.

"I am not! You take that back right now!" yelped Hermione, downing the glass of water in one gulp. "I don't get "pissed' as you eloquently put it. I'm a lady!"

Parvati and Harry tried desperately to hold in their laughter.

"Ladies get drunk too sometimes, love." said Ron, sounding as if he were speaking to Tatiana.

"Whatever." huffed Hermione. "Oh wait! What time is it? Is it 2006 yet?"

Harry looked at his watch. It was 11:59, and the seconds were ticking away.

"It will be in the next 10, 9, 8.."

The rest joined in, with Hermione being the loudest. "7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" yelled an eerily familiar voice from the open door of Tatiana's room.


	25. Chapter 25: In All Actuality

I just remembered something. Dolohov's mind got wiped by Hermione in Deathly Hallows...

Too late to change things. Let's just say that Voldy returned his memories or something lol.

Anyways, back to the fic.

* * *

Chapter 25: In All Actuality

 _January 1, 2006, 12:00 AM Ron's Flat_

The four turned their heads quickly to see Antonin Dolohov holding a squirming and silently screaming Tatiana in his arms, and Viktor Krum pointing his wand straight at them.

Ron felt as if he was about to burst into flames. He ran towards Dolohov, but Viktor stopped him dead in his tracks pointing his wand directly at Ron's face.

"Make one wrong move and I'll kill you right in front of your precious little Weasley." growled Viktor as he moved his hand from Ron's face to his neck.

"VIKTOR PLEASE!" yelled Hermione, quickly sobered by the shock.

"Ah, my Mudblood! I see you made it to her!" said Viktor in condescending amusement. "And you have my beautiful pure blooded wife with you as well. And...Potter? I thought the rumors were just that. Back from the abyss I see."

"Enough of this chit chat, Krum." said Dolohov as he tried to restrain the still silently screaming Tatiana. "We got the bloody girl, now kill this lot and be done with it so we can go."

"You're not going anywhere with my daughter, you son of a bitch!" snarled Ron.

"Actually I think we are." smirked Viktor. "She is needed by the Dark Lord and what he needs, he gets. Besides, when have you ever been a father? You didn't even know the child existed."

"Viktor please let her go." cried Hermione. "I'll do anything you ask. Kill me if you need to, just please let her go!"

"Wish granted" said Viktor as he whipped his wand towards Hermione.

"AVADA KA-"

*POW!*

You could hear the bone in Viktor's jar crack as Ron punched him as hard as he could, knocking him out instantly. Harry grabbed Parvati's wand from her pocket as Ron grabbed Viktor's, each one pointing it at a now paranoid Dolohov.

"Put her down." growled Ron as he pointed his wand at Dolohov's forehead.

Dolohov did as he was told. As soon as Tatiana's feet touched the ground, she ran over to Hermione, who gathered her up tightly in her arms.

Dolohov reached for his hand, but Ron and Harry were already on him, wands pointed at his head.

"Make a move and I swear to Merlin you'll die here tonight." said Harry as he moved Parvati's wand closer to Dolohov's head.

Ron quickly snatched Dolohov's wand from his pocket with his other hand, breaking it over his knee.

"HOW DID YOU FIND US?!" yelled Harry.

"Tortured his blonde friend." he said shakily. "She wouldn't budge, so we stole her memories before killing her."

Hermione, and Parvati gasped loudly. Ron felt as if he had been hit by the Knight Bus. Hermione passed Tatiana to Parvati, telling her to leave the room.

"You heartless bastards." said Ron, now pushing Viktor's wand into Dolohov's face. "I should kill your sorry asses right now."

"Let me." said Hermione, wand in her hand, pointing it at the unconscious Viktor, her brown eyes looking as if small flames were lit inside of them.

"Mione..." whispered Ron, almost afraid of what the witch would do.

"Don't." said Hermione. "This man has been a bloody thorn in my side for seven years Ronald. Seven! He's raped me, beat me, tortured me. Thank Merlin for Tatiana being strong even in the womb because I was hit so many times with the cruciatus curse while I was pregnant, I should have lost her! He allowed his Death Eater cronies to do the same, Ron! I hate him! He deserves to die!"

Hermione cried as her wand trembled in her hands, still pointing it at Viktor. Harry quickly hit Dolohov with an imobilus charm, freezing him in mid sentence. The boys walked over to Hermione's shaking form and each one put an arm around her.

"Hermione, don't do this." whispered Harry, carefully.

"You're not a killer, love."

"Think of the consequences, Hermione."

"Think of our daughter. You don't want to kill someone while she is in the flat, do you?" asked Ron as he gently pushed Hermione's arm to her side.

Hermione shook her head, tears running down her cheeks as she gazed upon Viktor, hate coursing through her veins for the man. She turned and ran into Ron's room to be with Tatiana.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and blew out breaths that neither one knew they were holding. They bonded both Viktor and Dolohov together and Ron broke Viktor's wand.

"With all Hermione has been through, why didn't you let her do it, Ron?" asked Harry.

Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't want her to become a killer. That isn't Hermione. She wouldn't want that. I would rather kill for her a thousand times before I would ever let her kill once. That's not in her nature."

"Not in yours either." said Harry.

"Yeah, well, I have a family to protect now. I'll do anything for them Harry. Anything."

Harry nodded, understanding what he meant. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Parvati were like family as well. He would do whatever it took to keep them alive.

"So, what do we do with this lot?" said Harry, pointing to the Death Eaters on the floor.

Ron walked over and spat in Viktor's face. "More where that and that jaw came from you bitch." he sneered. "I guess we call up Zabini and Malfoy and tell them we have two more to stash with that bastard father of his."

"And then?"

"Then we go hunt us down a snake and its wizard."

* * *

 _January 1, 2006, 2:06 PM Verona, Italy Zabini House_

After restoring Tatiana's voice and spending hours reassuring her that the bad people would never come for her again, Ron and Harry apparated over to Blaise's hideaway house, anxious to get some answers. Kingsley, Draco, Blaise, and Bill were already there.

"Got the Veritaserum?" asked Ron.

Kingsley held up a small vial. "These two are giving us a hard time, I'm afraid."

"Pity." said Ron in mock concern. "Guess we have no choice but to get our information the hard way, yeah?"

The two men walked the long stairway down to where they were holding Lucius, Viktor, and Dolohov. As soon as Viktor saw Ron's face he sneered.

"Ah Krum! How's that jaw, mate?" asked Ron mockingly.

"Fuck you Weasley." spat Viktor.

"Not my type, I'm afraid. Now you and your mate here are going to answer our questions. The quicker you answer, the quicker your glass of water and crust of bread comes. As Malfoy all about it."

"Filthy blood traitor." grumbled Lucius.

Bill, Blaise, and Draco came through the door, helping Harry hold down the Death Eaters as Kingsley poured the potion down their throats.

"Your full names gentlemen?" asked Kingsley.

"Viktor Yveteski Krum." said Viktor.

"Antonin Mercutio Dolohov. said Dolohov.

"Where is your Dark Lord? And do not speak of his name. We know about the taboo." said Bill.

"We don't know. Last we seen of him, he was walking out of the Ministry, asking for his snake to be retrieved." said Dolohov.

"Where is the snake Nagini?" asked Kingsley.

"She was in a secret house located in Africa, however, she has probably been retrieved and brought back to England by now." said Viktor.

"Is there any secret places that you will tell us about that Riddle would go to?" asked Harry.

"An old mansion in the hills of the London countryside. Gold's Place." said Dolohov, wincing. He knew that he was done for, he was never to tell the secret.

"Many thanks, old chap." said Draco laughing. "I'll be sure to tell your boss you said it personally."

"Tell him after he wipes out your whole family, Malfoy." sneered Dolohov.

Draco stopped laughing. "Is that a threat?"

"The Dark Lord plans to wipe you, your mother, your blood traitor wife, and your pathetic children off the face of the earth." said Dolohov.

Draco apparated off immediately to check on his family. Dolohov tried to make a break for it. Blaise however, tripped him up quickly.

"Where are you going?" laughed Blaise. "You have no idea where you are, and your wand is broken. You have no way of getting away from here, so you may as well make yourself at home."

"I thought she was mine." said Viktor, still under the influence of the Veritaserum.

"What did you say?" asked Ron.

"Tatiana. I thought she was mine. The Dark Lord told me she was yours. I didn't hate the girl. I actually really wanted to show that I liked her. I didn't even hate Herm-own-ninny."

"Don't you speak on-"

"I had no choice, Weasley." said Viktor, seeming like he was trying to get something off his chest. "I haven't had a choice since months after my last year of schooling. He would have killed my mother and brother. Karkaroff chose me. He told the Dark Lord I was useful. I was forced to take the mark. To do his dirty work. And I was forced to hurt people I never wanted to hurt. Herm-own-ninny. Every time I struck her, raped her, swore at her, I felt guilty. And when she had the baby, I felt even worse. I wanted to properly love that baby, but I couldn't. The Dark Lord still has his hold over me."

"Kingsley, how long does that shit last?" asked Ron, not believing what Viktor was saying.

"An hour, Ron. He's telling the truth." said Kingsley.

Ron felt conflicted. He wanted to pummel this bastard for the shit he put Hermione and Tatiana through. But if he really didn't mean to, he would be wrong to punish the man.

"Where is your family?" asked Ron.

"They are with the Dark Lord. At least I think they are. I haven't seen them since I was 19." said Viktor.

Dolohov sneered at Victor's admission. "I always knew you weren't built for this." he snarled. "I had told the Dark Lord to allow me the pleasure of the Mudblood, but he felt that you should be the one. You are weak. You are pathetic. You are nothing!"

"And you're a fucking half-blood. Tell the Dark Lord that!" spat Viktor, causing the room to gasp and Blaise to laugh.

"Oh this is too rich! You're a half-blood? And you have the nerve to belittle Muggleborns when you are half of them?" laughed Blaise.

"Birds of a feather, mate." said Harry. "His Dark Lord is a half blood too. Tom Riddle Sr was a muggle. His mother gave him a love potion. Ask Tom about it."

Blaise looked highly amused while the three Death Eaters in the room looked dumbstruck. "It's not true." angered Lucius.

"You know it is." said Harry. "Don't play stupid. All your talk about pureblood supremacy and your leader has muggle blood in his veins."

Viktor couldn't help but smirk. Lucius and Dolohov looked absolutely disgusted, but no one could tell if they were disgusted in Voldemort, or themselves.

"Lock em back up." said Bill.

"Wait!" yelled Ron. "I have one more question before the effects wear off. Viktor, did you really kill the blonde witch, Lavender Brown?"

Viktor looked Ron straight in the eye. "I didn't. I merely stunned her and extracted her memory of knowing where you lived."

Ron sighed, relieved. He nodded then walked out the door with Harry.

Blaise conjured up some food and water and walked out the room with the others, putting up every locking charm he could think of. Bill threw up some of Gringotts strongest ones just in case.

The men flooed back to Grimmauld Place. They planned on attacking tomorrow, having Lee and Blaise case the place first, as they were the best at stealth. Ron went and checked on Lavender. She was shaken and bruised but otherwise okay. She had felt horrible about what had happened, but Ron assured her that everything was fine.

Draco had checked on his family and seen that they were fine. However, Narcissa, Ginny, and the children were moved to Shell Cottage immediately, as well as Tatiana, who wanted to be close to Ginny and the new baby. Hermione and Parvati stayed with Harry and Ron at Grimmauld Place.

* * *

 _January 1, 2006 9:16 PM Grimmauld Place_

Ron and Hermione laid in the in Ron's room in the house, Ron holding Hermione close to him, stroking her hair.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah Ron?"

"Krum said he didn't mean it." said Ron.

Hermione looked up as Ron, annoyed. "And you believed him?!"

"Hear me out." said Ron calmly. "He was under Veritaserum when he said it. No Nose has had his family hostage since 1995. That's how he's been manipulating him."

Hermione didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, if he was being forced, she couldn't very well blame him. She would do anything for her family as well. However, it still didn't take the pain away.

"He also said that he wanted to like Tati, and that Riddle told him she wasn't his." said Ron.

"Wonder how he knew that. Maybe because of her powers? She's very strong for her age." said Hermione, laying her head back on Ron's chest.

"Possibly. She does have two very magically strong parents. Especially the mother." said Ron, kissing to top of Hermione's head.

"Maybe."

"Can I ask you something?" asked Ron.

"Sure."

"Do you still love me?"

Hermione raised her head up and looked at Ron as if he were stupid. "What kind of mental question is that?" she asked as she sat up.

"It's not mental, it's a question. It's been seven years, Hermione."

"Yes it has. And I think the question should be do YOU still love ME."

"Okay, who is the mental one now?" laughed Ron.

"I mean it." said Hermione. "I've always thought about it. I'm a scarred woman now. Viktor raped me, Dolohov logic raped me, a few others... I feel like such a whore."

Hermione pulled her knees into her chest, hugging her legs, trying to make herself as little as possible. Ron sat up and gently grabbed Hermione's face.

"I don't ever want to hear you refer to yourself as a whore ever again, do you understand me? You are no one's whore. They stole from you. They did that to you, not the other way around. And you're strong, still beautiful, and still the best witch that I know. And I would be a fool if I didn't love you. I've loved you since before I knew what love was. And that's never going to stop."

Ron leaned in and kissed Hermione's lips. He felt Hermione smile under his kiss.

"I love you too." said Hermione, missing him back.

"AND I LOVE YOU THREE!" yelled Harry, newly busting into the room, Parvati behind him giggling.

"OI! YOU FUCKING WANKER!" yelled Ron, laughing.

"Language Ronald!" said Hermione, hitting Ron with a pillow.

"But I just love you guys so much!" said Harry and he leaped onto the bed, hugging his best friends to him. The trio laughed as they threw pillows at each other.

"Jump in Parvati, we love you too, girl." said Ron, chucking a pillow at Parvati, which she swiftly caught and launched back.

The four friends pillow fought and laughed the hour away. It was like being back at Hogwarts, where the only thing they had really worried about was Professor McGonagall's tests and the only war that was happening was in Quidditch with Gryffindor against Slytherin.


	26. Chapter 26: Please, Don't Go

Again, I am no good with accents. Imma try my best to do Fleur justice lol

* * *

Chapter 26: Please, Don't Go

 _January 2, 2006 10:36 AM Shell Cottage_

Tatiana and Victoire sat in the sand, making sand castles. Victoire had insisted she and her now favorite cousin did this, and Bill happily put a warming bubble around the area that the girls were playing in, so they wouldn't be cold.

"Do you miss going to school? asked Tatiana to her cousin as she dug a hole into the sand.

"Sometimes." said Victoire. "I miss playing with Teddy more. He was in my class."

"Who is Teddy?" asked Tatiana.

"You didn't meet Teddy yet? He is Uncle Ron and Harry's other son."

"Other son?" gasped Tatiana, causing Victoire to laugh.

"Godson, silly."

"Oh. I had a godmum. But she went to a better place, Mummy says." said Tatiana sadly.

"That where Grandmum says Grandpa went." said Victoire. "You didn't get to see him. He was very funny. He liked muggle stuff a lot."

"I have a muggle doll. She's pretty."

"So do I. I have to show you one day. I don't get why that bad man without a nose thinks that muggles are so bad." said Victoire as she filled up her bucket with sand.

"I don't either. My Mummy is a Muggleborn and she's the best Mummy in the whole world. She's so nice."

"Hermione is very nice. My mum says that she used to hold me when I was a baby. I don't remember that though."

"I missed my Mummy when she was gone. Do you think she and Daddy will get married and have another baby like your mummy and daddy did?" asked Tatiana enthusiastically.

Victoire laughed. "Of course! Uncle Ron is the best!"

The girls laughed and continued to talk about random things while Bill, Fleur, and Ron watched them from the sitting room window. Dominique sat in Bill's lap. They had heard the conversation and had been very amused by it.

"She's already planning out your future Ron." said Fleur as she gently messed up Ron's hair.

Ron blushed. "Looks like it. And it would be nice if Hermione would go for it, but I don't see that happening."

"Why do you say that, Ronnie?"asked Bill.

"She sees herself as damaged goods for what happened to her. And I could tell her a million times that it isn't true."

" 'Ermione has been through tragedy. Tragedies that none of us will ever understand having not gone through them " said Fleur kindly. "It will take 'er awhile to get back to the way she was. You just have to keep reminding 'er Ron."

"Where are her parents?"asked Bill. "Are they still in Australia?"

"Dunno." said Ron. "Malfoy tried to investigate when she had sent the longitude and latitude of their location to Ginny, but he came up with nothing."

"That's so sad. The poor girl. You and Tatiana are all she has." said Fleur.

"Has Lee and Blaise spotted anything?" asked Ron trying not to think of something being wrong with Hermione's parents.

"They think they see a way in that's safe." said Bill as he handed Dominique to Fleur so she could feed her. "I mean any kind of way will be dangerous."

"It's a risk "

"Do you really want to take it?" asked Bill. "What will happen to Hermione and Tatiana if something happened to you?"

"What would happen to Fleur and your girls if something happened to you?" returned Ron.

"Touche. It's a risk for us both. But this has to be finished."

"This feels like last time. Only we won't have that many people, nor any basilisk venom. Nor the Sword Of Godric Gryffindor." said Ron.

"Ahhhh Ronnie, that's where you're wrong." said Bill, getting up quickly and running up the steps, leaving Ron looking bewildered.

He came back down a couple minutes later holding a big and long box. He placed it on the table.

"Open it." he said with a smile.

Ron stood up and walked over to the box. He opened it up and gasped. There inside, laying on black velvet, was the Sword Of Gryffindor, in all its glory.

"Bloody hell!" said Ron, awestruck. "Where did you get this?"

"Grabbed it up quickly while You Know Who was making his victory speech. No way was I going to let those Death Eaters get that sword. I apparated to here and back as quickly as I could. Stashed it ever since."

"Harry is gonna go mental! This is brilliant Bill!" said Ron, feeling himself growing excited. He had more confidence that victory could be obtained now.

Ron closed the case back up. Even though the sword had boosted his confidence, he still thought about the possibility of something going wrong. What if he and his friends got hurt? Or worse?

"I need to talk to Fleur for a second." said Ron as he left Bill in the sitting room and went to the kitchen. Fleur was there feeding Dominique some creamed wheat with milk and honey.

"Fleur, I have something to ask you." said Ron nervously. "Tomorrow, we go and I have already ruled out begging Hermione to not come. Do you think-"

"I'd be honored to take care of Tatiana." said Fleur. "She iz a bright and beautiful child, and Victoire adores her company."

Ron smiled. "Thanks, Fleur."

"You're welcome. And do not worry. 'Ermione and you will come back to 'er safe and sound. Just like Bill, he is coming back to 'is girls."

"But...but how do you know?" asked Ron, suddenly feeling down about everything.

"I don't kno. I just 'ave to 'ope for 'ze best, non? Which is what you, 'Ermione, and Tatiana will have to do as well."

Ron nodded. He looked at Dominique who was now trying to feed herself. He would have liked to have seen Tatiana at the tender age of two, learning simple things and trying to put together sentences. He would love to have another child with Hermione, and be able to be around for all the milestones that he missed with Tatiana. A wife, his daughter, and another one. Sounded like a grand life.

Hopefully, it would happen someday.

* * *

 _January 2, 2006 12:20 PM Shell Cottage_

Ginny sat in a chair in one of Bill and Fleur's guest rooms watching Draco as he checked over everything that he needed for tomorrow. Narcissa had the children downstairs, Orion playing with his cousins, and Lyra was napping peacefully in her grandmum's arms.

"I want to go." said Ginny, stopping Draco in his tracks.

"Are you mental?" asked Draco.

"You're going to need me, Draco. You need all the witches and wizards you can get." said Ginny.

"Absolutely not." said Draco as if the matter was closed.

"I know you're not trying to tell me what to do." said Ginny, feeling herself getting angry at Draco's refusal.

"Dammit Ginny, you're so fucking stubborn! Why can't you just stay here with the kids?"

"Oh is that what this is? The big strong men go and fight the good fight while the poor damsels stay behind and watch the children and have dinner on the table when you're done fighting?!" yelled Ginny.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, Gin. You know I don't look at you in that light. I don't go for that gender bullshit."

"Well then what is it? Why can't I fight with you?! It's not like I didn't fight in the last bloody war!"

"No, Ginevra. You're not going to fight!"

"Why the hell not?!" yelled Ginny in frustration.

"I can't lose you!" snapped Draco. "I can't! And neither can Orion and Lyra, okay?"

"That's why we should do this together, love. We can fight together. We can watch out for each other. I don't want to lose you either."

Draco took Ginny's hands and pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. He breathed in the scent of her hair, strawberries and cream. He would lose everything about himself if he was to lose her.

"What's it going to take to make you not fight?" asked Draco close to her ear.

Ginny sighed as she hugged Draco tighter to her. Why was he making this so difficult?

"The only way I'll stay is if you'll stay with me." she said, knowing that she had him right where she wanted him.

"Done." said Draco with no hesitation.

Ginny pulled back, floored. "Are...are you serious?"You really would stay?"

"If that is what it takes for you not to go, then I won't go." said Draco, smirking. "What? You thought I would cave and be like fine you can come? I'm a Slytherin, not some noble ass Gryff like you and your lot."

Ginny couldn't help but grin. "Sometimes I truly hate you, you know that?"

"I love you too."

"Fine. I'll fucking stay. But if you come back with any broken bones, I'm not healing them. And if your face is fucked up in any way, I'm leaving you." said Ginny, kissing Draco on the nose.

"You would leave me? Just like that?" said Draco in mock devastation.

"Hell yeah I would. You'll make me and the children look bad."

* * *

 _January 2, 2006 8:52 PM Grimmauld Place_

The old house of Sirius Black was filled with witches and wizards. The Weasley's had managed to gather up comrades that were ready and willing to finish this war. Among the Weasley men plus Angelina, Alicia, Hermione, Parvati, and Harry were Padma, Draco, Blaise and his mother, Kingsley, Lee, Lavender, Dennis Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Zacharias Smith, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle, Susan Bones, Katie Bell, Dean and Seamus Finnigan, Theo Nott, and other witches and wizards that were in Hogwarts during the war. Remarkably, Grimmauld Place had expanded to comfortably fit each and every one that was in the house.

"Does it seem weird that Pansy, Goyle, and Nott are here?" asked Ron to Draco. "Especially since their parents were Death Eaters?"

"Nott's uncle was the only Death Eater in the family and he was killed. Plus, he was always an inside man like Zabini. He worked in the Ministry." said Draco. "Goyle has since reformed, and Pansy was never really for this shit."

"Ah. Well, I'm a bit reassured now." said Ron.

"I just want to give you a heads up." said Theo as he sat down beside Draco. "You Know Who knows that something is going to happen. I've overheard him talking."

"Did someone say something?" asked Harry.

"No. I think that he is just ready to fight as much as we are." said Theo with a smirk.

"True right you are." said Fred. "I'm ready to end this shit."

"As am I." piped up Angelina.

"Quiet, you're pregnant." said Fred for what seemed like the millionth time. "I keep telling your ass I'm not having my pregnant wife out there fighting. Keep on and I will immobilize you, I swear to Merlin's balls!"

Angelina sneered at her husband and then left the room.

"Maybe I should have said that to Ginny." said Draco.

"Let's move on, shall we?" said Ron. "Does everyone know their respectable teams? Malfoy, you, Zabini, and Nott are in charge of your Slytherin lot, as well as Padma, Parvati, and Dennis."

"Don't let one fucking thing happen to Parvati, Malfoy." threatened Harry, to which Draco scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll have my team, Bill has his, and Harry for the hundredth time, why are you going at this alone?" asked Ron.

"Because the prophecy is still in effect, Ron." said Harry. "I have to be the one to kill him. You just make sure that snake is dead before I try."

The table nodded and then was dismissed. Each person going to their respectable rooms to sleep.

Harry and Parvati sat in Harry's room, not knowing what to say, despite having a lot on their minds that they wanted to get off their chest.

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?" asked Parvati as she cuddled up next to Harry in bed.

"I'm positive." said Harry. "I'll be worried enough about you as it is with you being with Malfoy."

"It'll be okay. You worry too much. I survived in the last war, I'll be fine in this one as well." said Parvati, pushing Harry's unruly hair out of his face.

"Still, I wish you wouldn't go. But I know you won't abandon your sister. And you're too stubborn to listen to me so I wasn't even going to try." said Harry rolling his eyes.

"I just want to be there for you and Padma, that's all. I couldn't live with myself if I stayed and something happened to you or her and I could have been there to help."

"Being a brave Gryffindor is overrated." chuckled Harry.

Parvati laughed. "No. Being the Chosen One is more than likely overrated."

"Oi! You chose The Chosen One." laughed Harry.

"Maybe one day he'll be able to slow his ass down and breathe, yeah? Oh! I have something for you." said Parvati.

She got up and went over to her bag, taking out what looked like a small eye glass case. She smiled big as she handed it to Harry.

"You didn't." said Harry as he opened the case. He laughed as he pulled out a pair of glasses that were exactly like the ones he grew up wearing.

"You wouldn't be Harry Potter without your glasses, now would you? That and I missed them on you. I don't like those bloody muggle contacts.

Harry took his contacts out and put the glasses on. He felt as if he were whole again.

"There's my Harry." said Parvati kissing him on the cheek.

* * *

Meanwhile across the hall, Ron and Hermione had fallen into an old habit.

"I should have kept my bloody mouth shut!" yelled Ron. "I knew this was going to happen."

"You're right! Why wouldn't I want to fight?!" yelled Hermione back.

"Oh I don't know, so you can be with Tatiana?! That and the fact that you've been abused by these bastards for years?! I don't want to see you go through that shit again! What if someone tries something?!"

"I have a wand for that Ronald! You're acting as if I'm going into this blind. I can't sit by and let you and Harry fight this. When have I ever done that?"

"This isn't Hogwarts anymore, Hermione. If something happened to you, I would never be the same!"

"And neither would I if something happened to you!"

"What if something happened to the both of us, Hermione? What about our daughter?! Please Hermione, PLEASE!" begged Ron.

Hermione was furious. She knew that he had struck a nerve with that one. What if something did indeed happen to the both of them? Tatiana just met her father and only recently gained her mother back. The poor child would be lost without them.

"You just had to play the daughter card, didn't you?!" growled Hermione.

"You left me no choice."

Hermione sighed, defeated. "Ron, I trust that we will be okay. I can help you." said Hermione. "However, you're right. Tatiana does need at least one of us to stay with her. And if it has to be me, I'll do it."

Ron couldn't believe what had just came out of Hermione's mouth. "Really? You're actually going to stay? You're actually listening to me for once?"

Hermione shoved Ron onto the bed and stood in front of him. "Oh shut up. You bring up a valid point. It wouldn't be right for us to both be away from her. Especially at a time like this."

Ron put his arms around Hermione and pulled her close, burying his face into her abdomen. Hermione stroked Ron's hair, as Ron drew circles in Hermione's back.

"You better come back to us." said Hermione. "I'll never forgive you if you don't."

"Hell, I'd never forgive myself." said Ron.

"Just protect yourself out there, okay?"

"I will." said Ron, and trying to lighten the solemn mood, gently bit Hermione's stomach.

"Ronald Weasley, what do you think you are doing?" giggled Hermione.

"It's been seven years since you've been this close to me. What do you think?" said Ron, slyly looking up at Hermione.


	27. Chapter 27: The Final Battle

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HERE'S HOPING THAT THIS YEAR IS WAAAAAAAAAY BETTER THAN 2016!

Just so you know, I suck at writing fight scenes. However, I will try my hardest to make this as action packed and interesting as I can. I hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter 27: The Final Battle

At around 5 in the morning, Ron had woken up. He looked over at the naked, sleeping Hermione, and snuggled up next to her. The moment to him felt beautiful, but heart wrenching. Once again they would be apart, and Merlin only knew if he would be able to see her face the next day.

He didn't want to wake her. Saying goodbye to her face to face would be too much for him to do. So he wrote her a small note and put it on his pillow, along with a ring with a sapphire in it. He kissed her lightly on the lips, whispered "I love you", and walked out the room quickly before he changed his mind and got back in bed with her.

He went to the bathroom, freshened up, and went to Harry's room, knocking on the door. He heard a groan followed by "just ignore it." being said more than likely by Parvati. Ron snickered as he knocked again, harder.

He heard two groans this time, something that sounded like clothes, and then footsteps. The door opened widely and a very pissed off Harry glared at Ron.

"Damn it, Weasley!" shouted Harry.

Ron held his sides with laughter. "Oh you'll be okay. Good to see you back to your four eyed self." he said, pointing to Harry's glasses.

"Well I don't need glasses to see that you're a bloody tosser." laughed Harry.

"Yeah yeah. It's time, you know."

"I know. Just give me five and we will be down." said Harry.

"More like 10!" yelled Parvati from the room.

Harry blushed while Ron laughed. "More like 10." he said as he closed the door.

15 minutes later, everyone was assembled downstairs, ready to fight. Ron, Harry, Bill, and Draco stood in front of them, each a leader or a team, each wondering if they were going to lead everyone to their deaths. No one had anything to say, yet everyone was thinking the same thing.

Victory. No matter what the cost.

* * *

The troops all apparated a little ways outside of Gold's Place. Lee and Blaise informed them on what to look for ahead.

"The place is like a fortress, so unfortunately, we will raise alarm as we knock the wall down with a Bombarda maxima." said Lee. "But it's the only way to get in."

"If anybody wants to turn back, you better do it now, because once we are in, you won't have that luxury." said Blaise.

No one moved. No one even looked around to see if someone would move. Blaise nodded, grinning a little as he stepped back in line with the others.

"So we all know what to do? We all blast the wall down and then we ambush." said Bill. "Draco, your team is in charge of finding that bloody snake. You have the sword?"

Draco nodded, patting a small satchel he had on his side. An expandable charm had been casted on it, so the sword was safely tucked away.

"Ron, yours is in charge of guarding Harry, just until he goes off on his own and the rest of us, well, I'd say anything goes."

"Right." said Ron, looking at his brother. "Okay everyone, wands at the ready?"

Everyone whipped their wands out and readied them for attack. The herd walked on quietly, but confidently up the path that led to Gold's Place.

A huge black wall greeted them as they approached. They spread out along the wall, collectively, let out a huge Bombarda maxima, and the wall came crashing down.

In an instant, sparks flew in every direction, as a herd of Death Eaters were waiting for them. Flashes of red, blue, orange, purple, and white shot out of wands from each side. Witches and wizards were falling, going through whatever spell had hit them, from something small like a stinging jinx, to Pansy Parkinson being hit with a bone breaking curse to the leg and arm.

Draco grabbed Parvati's arm, who in turn grabbed Blaise's, and ran towards the castle like building. They dodged curses and threw them right back, eyes still on the destination of the building. Once they made it to the door, the draped Harry's invisibility cloak over them so no one could see them. As soon as the cloak was over them, four Death Eaters rushed into the room. They looked confusingly around for about a few moments and when they saw nothing, they left.

"We must have triggered something." whispered Draco. Probably some type of detection ward. I feel like the longer we stay in this room, the more people will come and soon they will realize we are hiding in here."

"Right." agreed Blaise. "Let's start close to the wall and make a break for it."

Sure enough, as soon as they made it to a wall, three more Death Eaters came into the room, wands at the ready. They looked around confused for a moment.

"You think a disillusioned charm is up?" asked one of them.

"You idiot. The ward would take it off. Must be a mistake. Come on, let's join the fighting!" said one of the others.

They left the room, allowing Draco, Blaise, and Parvati to run along the wall as fast as they could. They made it out the door just in time for two more to go into the room. The three took off as quickly as the cloak would allow them to and ended up in a small broom closet.

Draco took out the schematics of the building that they had went back and had Lucius, Viktor, and Dolohov draw up under Veritaserum.

"So Dolohov said that if the snake is around, she should be in this room." said Draco, pointing to a square on the paper. "Its heavily guarded, so the invisibility cloak can get us there, but not in."

"You two are good at defensive spells, aren't you?" asked Parvati to the boys. "I can throw a few hexes, but-"

"Leave the hexing to us, Par." said Blaise. "You just guide us in, okay love?"

Parvati nodded as she took the parchment from Draco. The three set off on their mission.

* * *

Outside, the battle was taking on, and mainly Death Esters were the ones falling. Fred managed to save Lee from being blasted by throwing up a shield spell that caused the curse to backfire and take out three Death Eaters, Theo took delight in taking out his own uncle who had plagued him the majority of his life, and it had gotten so bad for the dark side, that some of the lower level Death Eaters were starting to flee.

Ron, Bill, and Harry had made it to the back side of the building, undetected. Hermione had managed to do a duplication spell on Harry's cloak, that way he too could sneak in undetected.

"You sure you want to go in on your own mate?" asked Bill one more time.

"In the end, it has to be me. Might as well." said Harry.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Forever a hero. We are coming with you weather you like it or not. You'll need us to cover you eventually. You can't do it all by yourself."

"Ron, I'll be-"

"Shut up Potter, let's get under the cloak." said Ron, smirking. Harry knew that arguing was pointless. He let Bill who was about two inches taller than Ron throw the cloak over them, and they went into the door.

There were screams and sounds of magic whooshing this way and that. A Death Eater had fallen at their feet, startling them as he was wide eyed. It took them a few seconds to realize that the man was indeed dead.

They moved against the wall until they got up to some stairs and began to climb them to the next floor.

Suddenly, Harry grabbed his for head in pain. He tried desperately not to scream, as to give them away.

"What's going on?" said Bill, concerned.

"Harry's scar. It's hurting him." said Ron, trying to rub Harry's back.

"Getting...closer..."Harry managed to groan through the pain as he crumbled to the floor. "He...senses me."

"It's gonna be okay, mate. We just have to push on." said Ron, encouraging Harry to stand. "You can do it, mate."

All of a sudden, they heard a high pitched scream. Harry stood up straight, face riddled with fear.

"I know that scream from anywhere! PARVATI!" yelled Harry. He took off like lightning down the hallway.

Ron and Bill stood stunned, not knowing what to do.

"Do we go after him?!" asked Bill.

"Uhh..YES!" exclaimed Ron, taking off, his brother on his heels.

The two ran until they got to double doors at the end of the hall. They heard Harry's muffled yelling and burst through the doors.

* * *

"Ahhh so your loud mouth chum made it!" said Voldemort triumphantly, holding Parvati by her neck.

"Leave him out of this Riddle! Let Parvati and the others go! This is between me and you, old man!" yelled Harry.

"Your precious girlfriend tried to kill my sweet Nagini, so now, it is between all of us." said Voldemort.

"Harry, kill that fucking snake!" croaked Parvati, bravely.

Voldemort laughed as he jerked Parvati around to face him. "So you're a cheeky one too, aren't you? I can break you of that, and allow Potter to watch." said Voldemort, reaching a hand out and grabbing Parvati's shirt.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER!" yelled Harry, throwing a jinx towards Voldemort, who moved swiftly out of the way of it, throwing Parvati onto the floor, hard.

Harry ran over to Parvati, lifting her head up gently, as a small trail of blood was dripping from her scalp and onto her forehead. She was still breathing.

Draco and Blaise, who had managed not to get captured, snuck unknowingly around the room in the invisibility cloak until they got near an unsuspecting Nagini. Draco drew the sword quietly out of the bag.

"Now Harry, I'll make this very simple." said Voldemort. "Give your life up to me, or everyone in this room dies."

"Ron! You and Bill get Parvati out of here!" yelled Harry immediately.

"We're not going anywhere!"yelled Ron.

"We're here to end this." said Bill.

"Don't you think you should listen to him? You could go back to fucking your Mudblood, and producing more children for me. Who knew you actually mixing your blood with her filth would produce such a powerful daughter. I'm anxious to use her."

Ron pointed his wand at Voldemort. "You will never touch my daughter, nor Hermione. I'll rip you apart piece by piece." growled Ron.

"Still the cheek." mocked Voldemort. "Let's see how much cheek you give once you are dead."

"RON!"

"AVADA KEDAVRA" shouted Voldemort, pointing his wand at Ron.

Ron watched the green light rushing towards him. Suddenly, he felt himself being violently shoved to the side, hitting the stone wall with enough brutal force to kill.

And his world went black.


	28. Epilogue

154 reviews, 70 followers, 67 favorites, and 30,057 views. Not bad for a story that I started in November lol. Thanks you guys for reading and for your kind words and even sometimes input. There are sometimes where I get really discouraged and feel like my writing isn't going to amount to anything, but your words and actions help me to think otherwise and continue doing what I'm doing.

Sorry about the stories that have been sitting idly by waiting to be updated like Death Eater's Revenge and The Seduction Of Ginevra Weasley. I never want to post something just to post. I always want my story to be good, especially when people are invested in it so bare with me. They will be completed soon enough.

Till the next story. Mrs. Ronald Weasley is out :)

* * *

Epilogue

 _September 1, 2010, 10:28 AM. Platform 9 3/4_

"Come on, Mum, I want to get a good seat!" said an excited Tatiana as she gazed at the glorious Hogwarts Express. Hermione smiled as she looked at the train, feeling just as excited, as if it was her first day of Hogwarts and not her daughter's

"Tati, slow down, we are here early as it is. You won't not have a seat." said Hermione.

"Where's Aunt Fleur and Victoire? I don't see them." asked Tatiana, pushing her trunk and Pigwidegon's cage on a cart.

"They are more than likely on the way, don't worry. You know how prompt your cousin likes to be, so I'm sure they aren't far behind." said Hermione, looking around.

As if on cue, Tatiana was knocked to the ground by a sea of laughs and strawberry blonde hair. Tatiana laughed and hugged Victoire tightly, having not seen her the whole summer, as she spent it with her grandparents in France.

"You look like gold, Vic!" squealed Tatiana.

"The beach was amazing! I was out there almost every single day!" said Victoire as she helped Tatiana up off the ground.

As the girls started bonding. Fleur walked up behind Hermione.

"Ermione, it's so good to see you." she said kissing Hermione's cheeks.

"Same to you. How was France?" asked Hermione.

"Very nice. I'm just glad I'm not hauling three kids this year." said Fleur, smiling.

"It'll probably make things easier than they were last year. I remember Harry having to help you catch Dominique before she fell on the tracks trying to run after the train. Where is she by the way? And Louis?"

Fleur laughed. "That was a scare, non? I can only imagine how it will be when she goes in three years and Louis would want to go with both his seesters. I dropped them off at Molly's on the way here.."

Hermione smiled as Fleur walked off, trying to keep up with her daughter, who had just left to find some of her other friends.

She felt a gentle pat on the shoulder. She turned and faced Harry and Teddy.

"Hey, Hermione" said Teddy, hugging her.

"A 12 year old boy that still gives hugs? How sweet!" joked Hermione, making Teddy blush.

"Yeah, well, Victoire won't let me hug her." grumbled Teddy.

Harry tousled Teddy's vibrant blue hair around. "Don't worry, you'll have her someday."

"There's my friends. I'll be back." said Teddy as he hugged Tatiana and then ran off to meet some second year boys.

"Feels crazy doesn't it? Being here?" asked Harry.

"Doesn't even seen real. Feels like yesterday that you, Ron, and I was boarding the train."

Harry sighed. "Yeah. I wish he was here. He would have loved to have seen his daughter off."

Tatiana grabbed Hermione's hand. "Victoire says it's almost time to go."

"The train leaves at exactly 11 o'clock." said Hermione. Your father and uncle learned the hard way about being on time their second year."

Tatiana looked instantly sad at the mention of her father. Hermione felt horrible, making that mistake.

"I'm so sorry, Tati. I know how bad you wanted Daddy to be here." said Hermione as she hugged Tatiana close to her.

A tear escaped Tatiana's eye. "I just wish he was able to be here to see me leave. I'm sure he would have liked to."

Hermione wiped the now flowings tears from Tatiana's face. "Don't cry baby, it's going to be okay."

"Yeah, everything is going to be okay." said a familiar voice from behind Hermione. Tatiana looked up and smiled ear to ear at the sight of her father.

"Daddy! You made it! I can't believe you're here!" squealed Tatiana as she leapt into Ron's arms.

Harry chuckled. "Glad you made it mate."

"Thanks."

Hermione beamed at her husband. "How in the world did you get off?"

"Took an early lunch and headed over to Mum's to see if Alexis and Ryleiann wanted to come, but they wanted to stay and play with their cousins. Your sisters are traitors." said Ron as he put Tatiana down.

"That's okay. I'm sure my new baby brother will have my back once he gets here." said Tatiana as she rubbed her mother's protruding belly.

"You got it wrong with the twins, little love." said Ron.

"I'm positive it's a boy this time, Daddy. And remember your promise if he is. He gets the name I chose. When I get home for holiday, Ashton William Atticus Weasley better be here." said Tatiana with a wink.

Ron winced. "Tati, baby, can we please negotiate the middle name? Can't it just be William? I'm begging you."

"A promise is a promise, Daddy." said Tatiana, wagging her finger back and forth.

Hermione giggled as Ron groaned. "Shouldn't we just go ahead and tell her that we already know she is getting a brother?" whispered Hermione.

"No, let her be surprised. More fun for her that way." said Ron, smiling.

Soon it was time for Tatiana to board the train. Tatiana grabbed at Ron's arm.

"Daddy?" said Tatiana, suddenly nervous.

"Yes, little love?"

"What if I don't get into Gryffindor like Victoire? I don't want to be anywhere else, but I don't feel brave enough. I still have Momo with me for Merlin's sake." whispered Tatiana embarrassingly.

"You have nothing to worry about. You're plenty brave, even with Momo. The fact that you are still taking him without fear of being judged is bravery in itself." said Ron looking at the tattered bunny in his daughter's arms.

Tatiana took that into consideration, satisfied with the answer.

Tatiana hugged her mother and father close. She then hugged Fleur and Harry, and then boarded with Victoire and Teddy onto the train. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Fleur watched as the train took off and rolled away into the distance.

Ron looked over at the teary Fleur. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"It's the same thing as last, I guess." said Fleur, wiping her eye. "I just wish Bill was here to see how wonderful his daughter is growing up. I know she misses him every day."

Ron put an arm around Fleur's shoulder. "I wish he was here to see it too, as well as the other kids. It's going to be okay. He's always with her, in a way. "

Fleur dabbed her the corner of her eyes with a cloth. "Zat is true. Well, I'm off to run errands before I stop by to get the children. Au revoir." said Fleur before she walked off.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry watched as she walked away. The couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"It's been five years, and she still hasn't fully opened up about Bill, Ron." said Hermione sadly as she rubbed her belly.

"Yeah, I know." said Ron, putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "She's always been the type to hold it all in. She barely talks to the kids about him. Louis doesn't know him at all with her not knowing she was pregnant till a week after the battle, and I doubt Dominique remembers him much."

Hermione sighed. "At least Victoire knows him. And she can share with the younger ones when they are ready."

Ron nodded. He would give anything to bring back the lives that were lost, including Percy's, his father's, and especially Bill's. Anything to heal his broken family. He would never get over the fact that Bill had pushed him out of the way of the curse, taking it himself. He had sacrificed his life for him.

That act had given Draco enough of a moment of distraction for him to stab Nagini straight through the head. Voldemort had felt the blow as if he had been hit by the sword himself, and after that, Harry quickly disabled and killed him, totally obliterating him from the face of the earth.

"Where is Parvati's waddling ass?" asked Ron. I'm sure you'll be glad when she has the baby."

Harry groaned, "At Ginny and Malfoy's. I don't know how you survived pregnancy hormones. I'm surprised that I'm not dead yet"

"You forget that you're The Boy Who Just Won't Die." joked Ron. "How many times in your lifetime have you cheated death?"

"A regular comedian you are." said Harry, grinning as Ron and Hermione laughed.

"I have to head back, love." said Ron, kissing Hermione on the cheek. "Are you gonna go into work for the rest of the day?"

"No, not feeling up to it." said Hermione. "I'm going to see how Ginny is doing."

* * *

 _September 1,2010, 11:22 A.M. Ginny and Draco's house_

Hermione knocked on the door of Ginny and Draco's. A few seconds later, Draco answered the door.

"Weasley, good to see you." said Draco, letting Hermione inside.

"Good to see you too, Draco. And standing! Does that mean they-"

"See for yourself." said Draco as he lifted his pants leg to reveal a prosthetic leg. The curse that Draco had been hit with when a Death Eater who hadn't gotten the message that the battle was over, had slowly ate away at his leg. Healers had been researching a cure, but to no avail.

Hermione couldn't help but tear up. "Oh Draco, I'm so sorry." she whispered.

Draco waved his hand dismissively. "Don't be. I asked them to. The pain was getting unbearable, and since they couldn't find a cure, I was sure it would spread to the rest of my body. So I just told them to hack it off. Been quite an adjustment, but at least I can still run with my kids and shag my wife." said Draco, grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Where is my sister in law, you git?"

"She's in the parlor, entertaining the other pregnant one." said Draco. "Which reminds me. Did you and Potter make a pact or something to get pregnant at the same time?"

"No you insufferable man." laughed Hermione. Parvati is a month ahead of me. She will be having hers any day now."

"Ah. Well the next time you two get pregnant at the same time, continue to not include Ginny. She's got that look in her eye."

"Ohhhh. You don't want any more kids?"

"I wanted a lot of kids before that battle bullshit. But now, I just want to enjoy the two that I have, you know?" said Draco, feeling down.

"Does Ginny know you feel that way?"

No. And I would prefer it if you didn't tell her. I'll tell her myself. One day. " said Draco. Hermione nodded and walked towards the parlor that Draco said Ginny and Parvati were in.

"Ah, the other preggo!" said Ginny, getting up and hugging Hermione.

Parvati simply waved, feet propped and too achy to stand at the moment. Hermione bent down and kissed her cheek.

"I see pregnancy is doing a number on your feet." said Hermione , pointing to Parvati's swollen ankles.

"I know, it's dreadful. I'm just ready for her to show her face, you know?" said Parvati, rubbing her huge belly.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" asked Hermione as she sat down.

"Lily Aadhya Potter. His mother's name, my grandmother's name." said Parvati proudly. "You saw him at the station?"

"Yeah, he joined Ron and I and saw the kids off."

"Did it feel weird? Being there?" asked Ginny.

"It did. But it also felt good, knowing that I'm sending my daughter off to learn her magic in a Voldemort free world. At least she won't have the years that I, her father, and her godfather had."

Ginny laughed. "She won't have to worry about any cursed diaries."

"No evil DADA teachers."

"Hopefully the only thing she would worry about is a date to a ball." said Parvati, grinning.

"Yes and if her hair will stay silky the entire night." laughed Hermione.

"Only if she doesn't meet an argumentative, jealous Gryffindor like her mum did." joked Ginny.

"Don't say that around Ron. He doesn't want the girls to ever date." said Hermione, shaking her head, thinking back to the conversation they had when Tatiana first said the word 'boyfriend'.

"Typical fathers." said Ginny. "Draco already gave Lyra the ' no boyfriends until marriage' speech just the other day."

"Is it really that bad?" asked Parvati, laughing.

"Worse." said Ginny and Hermione at the same time.

* * *

 _September 1, 2010, 9:20 PM. Ron and Hermione's house_

Hermione crept quietly out of her twin girls Alexis and Ryleiann's room after reading three chapters of their bedtime story to get them to sleep. She walked over to Tatiana's room and stared at the empty bed.

She couldn't help but already miss her daughter terribly. Every since 2005, besides work and having the twins, she was always close to her. Seeing her off that morning was almost unbearable, she only held it together so Ron wouldn't worry all over her. However, she felt good knowing full well that she was in a safe place.

She went into her and Ron's bedroom where she saw Ron playing chess against himself on the bed. She hasn't seen him do that since before she was taken away from the Burrow 12 years ago.

"Something wrong?" asked Hermione as she sat on the bed carefully, as not to disturb Ron's chessboard.

Ron looked up to her and smiled. "No. Just a friendly game against Bill and I." he said.

"Bill?"

"Yeah. Sometimes when I play by myself, I like to imagine Bill is playing with me. Kind of comforting, you know?"

Hermione nodded as Ron waved his wand and the chess pieces and board went back to its spot on the bookshelf they had in their room.

"Judging by how long you were in there, I see the twins didn't go down easy." said Ron as he got under the covers.

Hermione got under with him, snuggling up under his strong arm. "Alex kept demanding another story, and when Alex would demand, Rylei would follow. It's fine since we can all sleep in tomorrow morning."

"I wonder if she made it in?"

"Either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. She is super smart, but also the bravest child I have ever met." said Hermione as she lightly rubbed Ron's chest.

"Outside yourself of course." said Ron. "Remember, you're the brightest witch of our age, but you got into Gryffindor because of your bravery and loyalty."

"Is that why? I just thought the hat could predict the future and knew I had to be stuck with the a broody boy with glasses and a hot tempered redhead." joked Hermione, looking up at Ron.

"Cheeky woman." said Ron, playing with a strand of Hermione's hair.

"I'm glad to have met the two of you though." said Hermione. "Without you two, I wouldn't have had friends, had fun, and now be married to my wonderful husband and have his babies."

"I'm glad to have met you too. I'm glad that you made it back to us. And I'm glad I got to survive." said Ron, kissing Hermione passionately.

Suddenly, a stag patronus came through the window and frantically pranced around the room. "SHE'S HAVING THE BABY! SEND THE KIDS TO YOUR MUM'S RON, SHE'S HAVING THE BABY!"

Ron and Hermione laughed. "This ought to be as fun as when you went into labor with the twins, yeah?" asked Ron as he climbed out of bed.

"Let's just hope Harry doesn't threaten the healer to let them in the room like someone did after only 10 minutes of me being sewn up." laughed Hermione.

The pair got themselves and the twins ready, took them over to the Burrow, and popped over to St. Mungo's to help welcome the new life. A bright life. A safe life.

 _~And all was well.~_


End file.
